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You just might forget you're in South Florida when you see the Coral Gables Venetian Pool. This 820,000-gallon natural pool was carved out of a spring-fed rock quarry in 1923, incorporating Venetian design elements such as vine-covered loggias, shady porticos, three-story observation towers, and cascading waterfalls that spill into a lagoon complete with a palm-lined island and coral rock caves. Sounds pretty nice, huh? The pool was the brainchild of Dade county commissioner and "back country" land promoter George Merrick. In contrast to what he saw as the uncontrolled chaos emerging in Miami, Merrick wanted the burgeoning Coral Gables community to be an elegant, Mediterranean-style city complete with fountains, esplanades, plazas, and gorgeous homes and buildings. The pool was the crown jewel of the community, and during its heyday, gondolas plied its waters and Esther Williams and Johnny Weissmuller (of the early Tarzan films) swam its impressive length. But you needn't be a depression-era bathing beauty to enjoy this amazing creation, because the Venetian Pool is open to the public, year-round. Guests at the nearby Westin Colonnade, Coral Gables might want to don a bathing suit and make tracks to one of the only swimming pools to be listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Lucy Williams is an Orlando-based writer for Starwood Vacation Ownership and thelobby.com's expert on the subject.

Calling all word nerds and board game geeks: The 2008 National SCRABBLE Championship is coming to Orlando, Florida. Just a short distance from the comfortable and spacious accommodations of the Sheraton Vistana Resort and Sheraton Vistana Villages in Orlando, Florida, witness the ultimate vacation game at a professional level. Seven games will be played each day from July 25 through 29, 2008. If you're an avid SCRABBLE player, then you'll love this opportunity to compete against the best in the nation. Cash prizes will be awarded for the most challenging plays and to the top players. All players must be members of the National SCRABBLE Association. To learn more about how you can participate, please click here. So break out your dictionary, beef up your vocabulary and memorize an ever-important list of two-letter words.

For a living example of tropical world agriculture, pay a visit to the Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead, Florida. The only garden of its kind in the United States, the Fruit and Spice Park features more than 500 varieties of rare fruits, herbs, spices, and nuts. It's operated by the Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation department, and let me tell you, these people are serious about their fruit. There are 80 varieties of bananas alone, as well as 70 types of bamboo, 40 varieties of grapes, and 27 different kinds of mangoes. Guided tours are conducted three times a day, where an agriculture expert will point out some of the more unusual offerings (dragon fruit, anyone?), or you can wander the gardens on your own. Visitors are free to sample fruit that has already fallen from the trees, but "above ground harvesting" is prohibited, and you're not allowed to shake the trees either. That's okay, though, because the welcome center's tasting table has many of the fruits from the park, such as the sweet lychee (pictured), chopped up and ready to pop in your mouth. So indulge in some of the freshest and most exotic fruit to be found anywhere, savor the beauty of your surroundings, and appreciate what South Florida is all about. The Fruit and Spice Park is a short drive from the Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel.

If you just can't get enough Burt Reynolds in your life, make tracks for the Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum in Jupiter, Florida. This quirky museum, a short drive from the Resort at Singer Island, has memorabilia from all of Reynolds's big movies, from early blockbusters such as The Longest Yard, Deliverance, Starting Over, and The Cannonball Run to more recent hits like Boogie Nights and The Dukes of Hazzard. Reynolds, a former football player and big sports fan, also happens to have one of Florida's most extensive collections of sports memorabilia, where you'll find a pair of Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves, a baseball autographed by Mickey Mantle, and jerseys from Joe Montana and local hero Dan Marino. But this isn't just a monument to one man's career, it's also the home of the Florida Film and Theater Institute, a not-for-profit corporation that offers acting classes to beginning, intermediate, and experienced actors. Of course, the museum has a gift shop as well, and it's just the place to pick up a Burt Reynolds Museum T-shirt and perhaps a 14-karat gold Smokey and the Bandit charm. Come on, you know you want it.