A mountain getaway not far away

By Lori Johnston

For the AJC

Jeff and Susan Messer are seeing the fall foliage from a different perspective this year — from their second home in Blue Ridge. The couple often had talked about buying a home in Florida, but the distance caused them to focus closer to home. Jeff, 52, who works for Coca-Cola Co., and Susan, 52, a teacher at Ridgeview Charter School, chatted about their mountain getaway.

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Christopher Oquendo, for the AJC The Messers enjoy the deck with their dog, Samantha. "You feel like you are just all by yourself out on the mountaintop and you look down," Susan said. The scenery also gives them a "setting for relaxation," Jeff said.

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Christopher Oquendo, For the AJC Jeff and Susan Messer are usually at their vacation home in Blue Ridge every other weekend. The couple were impressed by the upgrades to the home – inside and out.

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Christopher Oquendo, Special Jeff and Susan Messer's home in Blue Ridge,GA.

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Why Blue Ridge? “We love the mountains. We love the outdoors,” Susan said. They also wanted to be close enough to return to Atlanta on Sunday mornings to attend Parkway Baptist Church in Duluth. They didn’t have a timetable for purchasing, but found the house in four weeks and closed on it three weeks later, Jeff said.

Their place: The home, which was built in 2007, has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths and a finished basement. “The house wowed us because it kind of looked just so inviting. It has an outdoor fireplace. It has a view,” Susan said. “Everything looked pretty pristine inside.” They noticed upgrades inside and out, and liked the high-end furniture so much they negotiated to buy the home furnished. The pool table, foosball table and outdoor features like the hot tub also stayed. “The furnishings were the mountain rustic furnishings instead of furnishings that looked like someone didn’t want to use it in their primary home,” Susan said. “If we had to completely refurnish it, that would have been OK, but since this was going to be another added expense, it was a plus that we happened to find this house.”

How far from home: About 1 1/2 hours, if they leave outside of rush hour, from their Sandy Springs home.

How often they’re there: Usually every other weekend.

What they do when they’re there: Their proximity to Blue Ridge allows them to visit the shops and restaurants, and Jeff also enjoys jogging into downtown on Saturday mornings, a four-mile roundtrip. They’ve also done activities such as horseback riding and tubing, and enjoy the outdoors with their dog, Samantha.

What they love about it: “You feel like you are just all by yourself out on the mountaintop and you look down,” Susan said. Jeff added: “We can see over the town of Blue Ridge.” The scenery provides a setting for relaxation, too.

“I feel like that when I see the house I’ve been given a sleeping pill already,” Susan said. “I never dreamed that having a getaway would be so relaxing and be something that you would look forward to.”

What to consider: The travel time from the second home to activities, grocery shopping and restaurants. Jeff said they looked at some houses that would have been a 40-minute trip due to the winding roads. They also made sure the homes they considered had cellphone service and the ability for Internet access and satellite TV. “I don’t want to be separated from people needing to contact me,” Susan said. “To me, not having cellphone access would have been more work.”

At a Glance

Jeff and Susan Messer’s home has three bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths and about 2,520 square feet of living space, which includes the finished basement. They purchased it in November 2008.

Community overview

Eagle’s Nest is primarily a second-home community of cabin-style homes, said Dawn McGuire with Century 21 Professional Realty Group-The Southern Team. The community, which began development in the mid-1980s, continues to have new cabins built. Sales in Eagle’s Nest, which is 1 1/2 miles from downtown Blue Ridge, have ranged from $159,900 to $425,000. Surrounded by the Aska Adventure Area, Eagle’s Nest is close to the Toccoa River, Lake Blue Ridge, Chattahoochee National Forest, and miles of hiking and biking trails.

Getting there

Take I-75 north to I-575, which turns into Ga. 515. Once in Blue Ridge, turn right onto Old U.S. 76 Connector (at the KFC). After about 200 yards, turn left onto Veterans Memorial Highway at the three-way stop. After a quarter mile, turn right onto Aska Road. Travel about 1 mile and turn right onto Eagle Rock Road into the community.

Info

Fannin County Chamber of Commerce; www.blueridge
mountains.com

Century 21 Professional Realty Group-The Southern Team; www.TheSouthern Team.com

Recent sales

$323,000: 89 Eagle’s Ridge Way, Blue Ridge 30513. A three-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath cabin on 3.5 acres built in 1997.

$425,000: 112 Eagle’s Nest Lane, Blue Ridge 30513. A custom-built four-bedroom, two-bath cabin on .74 acres.

For sale

$338,900: 552 Weaver Creek Mountain, Blue Ridge 30513. A three-bed-room,three-bath log home built in 2005 on 1.28 acres.

$399,999: 299 Eagle’s Nest Mountain, Blue Ridge 30513. A four-bedroom, three-bath cabin built in 1985 with a separate one-bedroom, one-bath garage apartment on 2.07 acres.