So, for my birthday last month, the wife gave me probably the best present I've ever received: The Atlanta City Pass.

I advocate education above all and the City Pass is your pass, literally, to a widely entertaining classroom located in the heart of Atlanta.

For $69 (plus tax and any fees) you can not only view the history of Atlanta, including the countless Civil War relics lining the walls of the Atlanta History Center, but explore the classic permanent collections & visiting exhibitions of the High Museum of Art (we were lucky enough to experience the works of  photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson and the world changing events he captured).

But your dollar doesn't stop there. After you catch a quick lunch at, my personal favorite, the California Pizza Kitchen, (at the Atlantic Station: try the five cheese & tomato pizza!) take the Inside the CNN Studio Tour where you can ride the world's tallest freestanding escalator, watch the editors & writers at work and even see a live broadcast-which we were lucky enough to see. We stood watching history in the building where history is delivered. It was an indescribable feeling. Unfortunately, we were not able to see my idol, Clark Howard, but c'est la vie.

Ease on down the road toward the Aquarium & World of Coke (located right across from one another) and watch the Cannes Advertising Festival winning short film "Inside the Happiness Factory", get mesmorized by the hypnotic jellyfish, experience Coca-Cola products from around the world, and touch sea urchins within the same block.

If you have children, the City Pass offers Zoo Atlanta & the Fernbank Museum too! (NOTE: Although an amazing deal, the City Pass has two 'either/or' tickets: the Fernbank Museum OR  the High Museum of Art and Zoo Atlanta OR the Atlanta History Center. We chose the latter of both.)

If you don't live in the south, never fear!! The City Pass is featured in cities all over the nation, including Boston, Chicago, New York, Seattle and others.

So regardless where you live, please take advantage of cheap education in the world classroom because 'what you pay for is what you get' is not always the case.