Recently in Florida Category

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.

Miami is generally known more for fun in the sun than serious intellectual pursuits, but the city still has its brainy side. To wit, this beachy destination is also home to the World Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Chess Museum, a mecca, of sorts, for fans of this fascinating board game. The museum has exhibits dedicated to history's greatest players, from Benjamin Franklin to Bobby Fischer, including memorabilia from the greatest chess matches in history. Witness, for example, the table and chairs used in the classic 1972 match between Fischer and the Russian Boris Spassky (see video) in which Fischer captured the World Chess Championship in Rekyjavik, Iceland in what was widely seen as a Cold War battle. Several interactive exhibits will help you polish your own game as well, teaching both basic and advanced strategy, so you can move in, decimate your opponent's army, and capture his king. Not so genteel after all, huh? Who knows, you might get hooked on the game and become a chess master yourself. The Hall of Fame and Museum is a perfect place to soothe your sunburn after spending too much time on the beach, and it's convenient to several Starwood properties, including the Westin Colonnade, Coral Gables and the Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel.