I love Dahlonega. For several years every fall, we would rent a cabin up on Blood Mountain for a couple of weeks. We would always hit the candy store and there used to be a BBQ sandwich place upstairs on the corner next to the candy store, but the last time we were there (had not been there for several years) it was gone. Darn! We have also been to Helen several times (spent a New Year's Eve there once). Actually up on Blood Mountain was where I experienced the worst hurricane I was ever in until Wilma hit the Keys. It was hurricane Opal and that beyotch came in at Destin, Florida, IIRC and just went whipping up towards Atlanta and then hit the mountain areas. It was rough. Did a lot of damage as far as downed trees. We had gone to town that day to get our BBQ sandwich and while waiting in line I glanced up at the TV they always had on and saw a hurricane symbol over the area. Is that some kind of joke? Nope. So as soon as we finished eating, I had my husband take me to some hardware stores and I stocked up on Coleman cannisters, got a hot plate/burner and a lamp that ran off the cylinders, as well as a regular old oil lamp and lamp oil, candles, etc, and then hit the grocery store for canned food. We rode it our just fine, but of course they lost power for about a five to seven days. Again, we did just fine. It was my husband's introduction to prepping, knowing what you need and getting it fast. We helped the owner clean the grounds and just lived like hippies for a few days -- lol. It actually turned out to be a really fun vacation.
