Working late in his lab one night in 1869, Dr. Cyrus Teed of upstate New York saw God. And she was a hottie. Better yet, she showed him that the Earth is a hollow ball with the universe crammed inside, how to interpret the Bible, and how to turn lead into gold. So maybe the good doctor was inhaling the ether. But give the man credit for having the courage of his convictions. Based on these "illuminations," Teed gathered a band of followers and, like all good kooks before and since, headed straight for Florida. Once here he set about building a "New Jerusalem" that was to be home to ten million people. His plans didn't quite turn out, but Teed did manage to build a commune on the banks of the Estero River that supplied its own food, generated its own power, and operated a printing press. When Teed died in 1908, his followers came to their senses and drifted away. The last believer in "Koreshanity" (Koresh is Hebrew for "Cyrus") died in 1981. What's left of the utopian commune is now nestled in a lush state park where you can camp, canoe, hike, and ponder Teed's hallucinogenic view of creation. The park is located just south of Fort Myers, a two-hour drive from Fort Lauderdale.

Two years ago Robert Todoroff's dream came to fruition. An athlete who didn't want to give up his favorite sports, including inline skating, during the most brutal stretches of Florida's heat and humidity, he envisioned an indoor center where entire sports fields could fit in one temperature-controlled building and play would be open to the public. Now entering its third year, the Sports Mall is still the best place for kids and adults to join numerous inline hockey, flag football, lacrosse, volleyball, soccer, and basketball leagues. Team registration fees vary by sport and by league, which include men's, women's, coed, youth, and corporate. But for just $20 per month, members can enjoy any of those sports during open-play sessions scheduled throughout the week -- all indoors in the a/c. Recently added to the center, a sports bar adds to the complex's other amenities, which include a spa, a sports medicine center, a dance school, a martial arts school, and a Gold's Gym location. Gold's and the other businesses charge their own fees, but Sports Mall members can use the gym on Sunday nights as part of their deal.