Tony, welcome aboard! I see that you've already "met" the fabulous Wikitreer, Vincent Piazza. Put his name in your rolodex as he will be one of your most valuable volunteers if you get stuck. (Brick walls, limbs of your tree, whatever. I've seen him fix them all.)
Tony, your life seems wonderful from where I sit. Having a family that owns a historical theatre, living in an unspoiled area of Florida, having family close by. The stuff of dreams!
You will find the WIkitree "family" to be unlike any other genealogical group that I've ever come across. They are warm, helpful and really take an interest in solving the mysteries of your family tree. I'll let one of my more experienced "cousins" talk to you about GEDCOMS. My personal advice, as a relative newbie... is to save working with them for later…they seem to produce a fair amount of flotsam and jetsam for every jewel…at least this has been my experience. I personally just plot along connecting the dots from ancestor to ancestor; as a result I've "lived" with great grandparents that I've never met but have always heard about. Its fascinating and fun!
Enjoy, welcome aboard, and its been very good to meet you!
"Cousin" Dorothy (who loves to go to the family-run Rose Theatre in Port Townsend, WA, when she's not going to the Uptown (also family run) or the Wheel-In motomovies. Ditto: family run.)