I had read about this a couple weeks ago, so when I saw a lone bottle in the cooler at Kroger, curiosity got the better of me.

I opened the bottle and inhaled the aroma. It smelled like a combination of citrus kitchen cleaner and cough syrup. This made me a bit wary, but I figured since this product is "limited edition" I should go through with my trial, since I may never get another chance.

Fortunately, it doesn't taste like citrus kitchen cleaner or cough syrup. Well, maybe a little like cough syrup. I think the same flavor could be achieved by adding grape juice to Hawaiian Punch and carbonating the result. For those without access to a carbonation machine, you might also get the same effect by mixing Pepsi Blue and MD: Code Red.

It's not a bad flavor, but it's not good either. If I want grape soda, I'll buy Shasta; if I want Mountain Dew, I'll buy the original. (For the record, I feel the same way about MD: Livewire -- replace grape with orange in this case.)

I bought my first album from the iTunes Music Store today. I watched Garden State yesterday and heard the Nick Drake song. That reminded me of The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack which also has a Nick Drake track. Then I remembered the Volkswagen Cabrio commercial, from 1999 or so, which included "Pink Moon." Then I saw (via iChat status)Afryl was playing Nick Drake and that was one too many encounters for me not to buy Way to Blue. High Five.

My parents came to ATL to visit during my 3-day weekend. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to think of enough things to do around town, since I'm still learning my way around, but we managed to stay pretty busy.

Atlanta History Center

The Atlanta History Center was impressive, to say the least. Most noteworthy is the Swan House, a house built in the 1920s that just recently underwent a $5 million restoration. At the time of building the house and 28 acres of land sold for just over $100k. It's now worth a whole lot more.

The original residents, Mr. and Mrs. Inman, imported pretty much everything from overseas. He inhereted his father's cotton brokerage, and all the money that went along with it, and they made sure to show it off. Some interesting stories about the Inmans: Mr. Inman earned a couple trophies car racing, but back then, the chauffeur drove the cars while Mr. Inman sat shotgun. Also, Mrs. Inman was a bit obsessive compulsive. She worried about scratches on her tiled floors (especially the black tiles) so when the grandkids moved in, they weren't allowed to walk on the black tiles. They also weren't allowed to use the showcase stairs.

Anyway, in addition to the Swan House, the museum features an incredible exhibit on the Civil War and also an impressive research library, among other things.

Cyclorama

The Cyclorama is the largest oil painting in the United States. It's a 360-degree panorama of the Battle of Atlanta. It was commissioned in the late 1800s and used to be parted down so it could travel, but now it makes its permanent home in Atlanta and has undergone restoration and preservation. Impressive.

Bark in the Park

The Atlanta Symphony hosts free concerts in Piedmont Park. Earning the "bark" name, there was also a disc-dog show with championship disc-fetching dog routines. Keeping with the theme, the symphony played pieces about animals from Swan Lake to Flight of the Bumblebee. We arrived about 90 minutes before the scheduled start, and easily found a reasonable place to sit on the grass. By the time the show started, the lawn was packed with people and their dogs. Some brought full table settings of wine and cheese and candles to enjoy while listening to the Grammy-award-winning musicians.

CNN Studio Tour

I know, I work there, but the studio tour is pretty neat anyway. There were a few things I hadn't seen yet.

Underground Atlanta

This is probably the weakest place we went. It's a mall. That's underground. Lots of touristy T-shirt and trinket-type stands and other stores. It's kind of an obligatory stop on your first visit to ATL, though.

Fernbank Natural History Museum/IMAX

The natural history museum is cool. We spent most of our time in the "interactive exhibit" area getting freaked out by the different tricks our senses (mostly eyes) play when our bodies encounter unexpected events. But the tricks are explained, so in addition to being entertained, you get to learn something, too.

The highlight of Fernbank is the IMAX theatre. We watched a film about NASCAR. Normally, I think 500 miles of left-hand turns are pretty boring, but with 12,000 watts of sound and a 40-foot screen it's pretty exciting. The movie wasn't a 500-mile race, anyway, it was a pretty cool documentary about all aspects of the organization and industry.