Why I love C-City.

Sometimes you may come across people who will say to you: "Why would you want to live in Cedar City? It's so small and boring." You may have even wondered these things yourself before you visited this little town. However, as anyone who has lived here can tell you, it's definitely the opposite of boring. Here are the top five reasons I love C-City, in no particular order.

1. The location. As I said in my last post, we live so close to so many awesome things. National parks, St. George, lakes, campgrounds, hot springs... you name it, we are most likely near it. Even Las Vegas is only two and a half hours away! I've spent a few nights seeing the lights down there myself.

2. Activities. Even if there's not something to do on campus (which there almost always is), there are plenty of things to do around Cedar. There are three movie theatres, one of which is a historic discount theatre where you can see shows for so cheap. There's a bowling alley and an old school skating rink, and in the winter there's an outdoor ice skating rink as well. There are plenty of hills for sledding and ice blocking, and tons of fields and parks for playing sports. It's basically impossible to run out of things to do.

3. The outdoors. When I say this, I don't only mean the national parks and hiking that are around. There's so much to do even in the boundaries of the city! There are running and biking trails that are surrounded by gorgeous scenery. A few campgrounds are less than 20 minutes away, and if you're in the mood for a bonfire, grab some friends and take them to one of the many spots that are nearby. Even in the winter, Cedar is gorgeous, because while we have similar temperatures and snowfall to the Salt Lake Valley, we don't have the inversion.

4. The shopping. You might be thinking, "Where on earth would you go shopping in Cedar City?" but let me tell you, there are some pretty cool stores! We have Rue 21, Sports Authority, Famous Footwear, and other popular stores, but we also have some real gems down Main Street. There is a shop that has an old fashioned soda fountain inside, as well as multiple thrift stores, a comic book shop, a used book store combined with a fantastic coffee shop, and many others. You'll have to check them out for yourself!

5. The food. Trust me when I say there are some amazing restaurants around here. It's hard to pick my favorite between Centro (wood-fired pizza), Brody's (amazing and authentic Mexican food), Boulangerie Marie (cute little French bakery), Pastry Pub (to-die-for Shakespearean sandwich shop), and all the other eateries around Cedar. There are even steakhouses tucked into Cedar Canyon and of course we have the new drive-thru soda stops that have been the craze lately. I spend way too much money eating out but it really is so worth it.

So, hopefully you have the chance to spend some time getting to know Cedar City. Maybe you'll find some hidden treasures that even I don't know about!