Who: Marshall and Kathleen Busko

What: A two-story home with three bedrooms and three baths in Ellijay. The basement level has a garage and a bonus room, so there's about 1,800 square feet total.

CHRISTOPHER OQUENDO/Special (ENLARGE)

Marshall Busko enjoys the fresh air at his home in Ellijay. Of its surroundings in the foothills of the Appalachians, he said, 'When the leaves fall, it's just amazing.' | View more photos of this home

When purchased: 2003

How far: Traveling there takes an hour-and-a-half to two hours depending on traffic. It's 85 miles from home.

How often do they get there? About every other weekend.

How they found it: Marshall says: "We had a friend with a cabin up near Murphy, N.C. We'd go visit and each time we drove up we'd think that we wanted to find our own place. We went on the Internet and saw a cabin we thought was interesting. As we drove up to see it, we fell in love with the mountain and its view. We didn't buy that cabin but we did ultimately find this house."

What's around them: "We're at 3,000 feet elevation in the southern foothills of the Appalachians. Next door is a national forest. When the leaves fall, it's just amazing."

What they do while they're there: "We cook a lot, we hike on the trails, we go kayaking and ride motorcycles. We're close to the Ocoee and Cartecay Rivers and Carter's Lake so there's water all around."

The best part: "It's so quiet here; so peaceful. There's always wildlife around — deer, turkey, bear, hawks. When you watch the sun making its away across the mountains and then setting, it's just magical."

The downside: "That we can't get up here to use it nearly enough. We'd love to retire up here. We've got a great view and at some point we'll make some modifications, make it a little larger, and this will be our retirement home."

Advice to other vacation home buyers: "Define what you're looking for. We started looking, and looked and looked and looked to find the area that was right. If we'd known about this spot, that would have taken two or three years off the search. Not that we minded the searching, but we could have been here three years sooner!"

Ellijay:

"Ellijay has developed into one of the hottest spots in Georgia to find great investments, spectacular mountain views, year 'round river sports or just a summer getaway," says J. B. Owens, salesman for ReMax Around the Mountains. "We have a large choice of homes to fit everyone's budget. Build your own home on a lot from a half-acre to 9 or more acres, or move into a new subdivision. I've got a listing for a three-bedroom, three-bath log home that sits on 2 acres overlooking a river and has full handicapped features. We've got it all."

Recent sales:

Lot 22, Cherry Lane: three bedrooms, two baths, two stories on 1.1 acres, gated community, views of the community fishing lake; sold for $196,000

318 Kells Ridge Drive: two-bedroom log cabin with loft, on 4.5 acres, overlooking river and nestled in the mountains; sold for $140,700

143 Spring Creek Trail: three-bedroom, two-bath home built in 1994, on 1.63 acres and surrounded by national forest; sold for $110,000

Things to do:

The Rich Mountain Wilderness is a 9,476-acre preserve managed by the U. S. Forest Service as part of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The mountain peaks at 4,050 feet and the wilderness has waterfalls and 30 miles of trout streams. Old logging roads provide trails for hikers and horseback riders. For more information, visit www.wilderness.net.

GETTING THERE:

From downtown Atlanta: I-575 North will turn into Ga. 515, which runs right into downtown Ellijay. Ellijay is about 80 miles from downtown Atlanta.