starting to swim...

quick intro/disclaimer... I'm a member of a few forums, motorcycles and cars and a couple others. I am not sure if this will sound like when a guy comes to one of those and says something like, 'Should I wear a helmet?' or something like that. Regardless, I am here because I want to start swimming for exercise, and I want some advice, basically, on where to start, what to wear maybe, stuff like that. That sounds dumb even to me, but I don't know what else to say. I go to a gym and I've been running on a treadmill (I lift weights mostly, but run a little most days for 'cardio' or whatever you want to call it) for a while. I like running, but I always walk past the pool and I'm jealous of the people splashing around in the water. Today, I thought, 'Dude... why don't I swim? It is not hard on my knees, it is better for my whole body than running, I love water... it'd be awesome!'. So I've been thinking about how to change my routine, all day basically. Tomorrow I am not lifting weights, so I might go to the gym pool for a swim, if I can decide what my routine might be. Like I said, I like water. I'm a fine swimmer, for an average human man, 34 years old, 6' 4", 195 lbs, decent shape. But I've never been taught how to swim by anybody, never done it except for fun in a lake/pool/ocean. So, I think I need some goggles - what brand should I get? Should I spend lots of money to get nice ones? I don't want to wear 'trunks', but I'm not really excited about Speedo briefs either... so are there skin-tight swimming shorts that are cool? If I just swim laps doing freestyle for 20-30 minutes, is that a cool workout, mostly for cardiovascular exercise, but also to help my muscles? If there are stickys, or links to beginner sites, or anything else, I'd appreciate more info. Thanks if anybody will help point me in the right direction.