Who: Dianne and Mike Sullivan

What: A rustic chinked log cabin with three bedrooms and three baths. This new home features a front porch with six rocking chairs and off the dining room is a deck that hangs in the trees 20 feet off the ground. Knotty cherry floors and pine ceilings add to the rustic quality. There's an unfinished daylight basement as well.

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

Mike and Dianne Sullivan instantly fell in love with their new log cabin with a large front porch and deck in the back. The Lawrenceville couple visits weekly.

When bought: February 2007

How long does it take to get there? It's 65 miles door to door, about an hour and a half from their home in Lawrenceville.

How often do they get there? Dianne says, "We try to go one night during the week and we go every weekend for one or two nights. We love to break up the week on Wednesday nights with a trip up to the house. We've also given keys to our two grown sons and every once in a while they come up as well."

How did they end up in Dahlonega? "About a year ago I started talking about wanting a second home, and we spent six months going somewhere in North Georgia every weekend. We looked at hundreds of homes," Mike says. After many trips, they decided on Dahlonega.

Love at first sight: "When we drove up, we knew this house was the one," Dianne says. "The overall look was exactly what we were looking for and it's only four miles from the Dahlonega town square." Mike adds, "We looked at a lot of beautiful homes, but many were built on the side of a mountain and their roads were not conducive to cars. Here we have a paved road in and a paved driveway, but we're still on the mountain."

The location: "We wanted to be close enough to home so we could come for an overnight stay. If your vacation home is too far away, it's too easy to put off going until the next weekend," Dianne says.

What do you do while you're there? "We love to hike and canoe and go tubing on the Chestatee," Dianne says. "We enjoy being out here with the wildlife and the mountain views. Mostly we relax and hike, and there are four wineries within five miles of us where we enjoy going for weekend brunch."

Advice for other vacation home buyers: Mike says, "We've been frugal all our lives and other than putting our boys through private college, this is the one big thing we've ever done. I think it's important to have a budget and know absolutely for sure that you can afford to own two homes, remembering that beyond the mortgage, you're going to be outfitting two homes and there's dual maintenance – lawn care, pest control and more."

DAHLONEGA

Alan Hearnshaw, real estate agent with Sellers Realty of Dahlonega, says there's all kinds of property available for sale in Dahlonega right now. "Undeveloped lots, lots in subdivisions ... and all kinds of houses from mobile homes to estates. We've got remote places if that's what you're looking for with property that backs up to forestry service land where you'll never see your neighbors. Our subdivisions can be different than those in more urban locations. It's possible to see lots with 7 or more acres in this area." Hearnshaw says to pay particular attention to the covenants that go with whatever property you're buying. "There are advantages and disadvantages to covenants, and the more exclusive the subdivision the stricter the restrictions are likely to be."

The Sullivans and Hearnshaw agree, "Dahlonega is a little jewel."

The Sullivans add, "We looked at so many different places, and here we found both a town and people that we love. We feel that way every time we come up."

Recent sales

Custom home on 1.52 acres, five bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, $389,500

Rustic two-bedroom, two-bath cabin on 1.5 acres, $223,000

Two acres of pasture and mountain views, 7.19 acres total, $133,000

Things to do

Blackstock Vineyards and Winery, Frogtown Cellars, Three Sisters Vineyards & Winery and Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery are all just north of the town of Dahlonega. Wine festivals are held in early summer, and the wineries are open on weekends throughout the year, and by appointment during the week. Gold Rush Days, celebrating the 1828 discovery of gold in the area, were Oct. 20-21 this year. For more information, go to dahlonega.org.

GETTING THERE

From downtown Atlanta: Take Ga. 400 north to its end. Turn left onto Route 60/19, and drive approximately 5 miles to Dahlonega. Look for Business Route 19 taking you to the town square.