I recently retired after a 30 year career in education in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I moved with my husband to St. George upon retirement and began blogging for the David Ellis Group of Keller Williams.  After working every day for 30 years it has been a wonderful adjustment.   According to TopRetirements.com, St. George (the 7th largest city in Utah) has become one of the more popular retirement communities in the nation.  St. George is located in extreme southwestern Utah, with spectacular red rock bluffs overlooking the town, a mild climate in winter, and numerous, terrific recreational opportunities.  TopRetirements.com describes St. George as "one of the fastest growing areas in the United States." 

I love St. George.  I feel like I am on vacation…

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If you have never had a chance to attend a play, musical or concert at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre, you are missing out.  Tuacahn Amphitheatre is located in the red rocks in Ivins, near St. George.   The mission of Tuacahn is this:  Tuacahn edifies and inspires the human spirit through professional world class family entertainment and unparalleled artistic and academic experience that matches the majesty of our canyon.    

This year Tuacahn is offering the following plays as part of their “Broadway in the Canyon” series:  Shrek: The Musical, Newsies, Mamma Mia and Fairy Tale Christmas.  Ticket prices start at just $29.  You can also buy packages that offer savings, if you purchase tickets to all three shows, not including Fairy Tale Christmas.  If…

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Reports from the first quarter of 2017 show now is the best time to sell a home in 10 years. Housing markets have recovered from the recession, home prices are up, and home builders are having a hard time keeping up with demand. If you've ever considered selling, now is the perfect time to place your home on the market.

By the Numbers

Nationally, sellers are seeing an average of $44,000 in gains right now and home prices are up 13%. In Utah, median sale prices also reached an all time high of $295,000. Homes are on the market for shorter amounts of time, in some of the fastest-selling areas around the country they're only on the market for about 3 weeks. While these are statistics and not guarantees, they show much growing home values are…

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I came across a small restaurant, Cappeletti’s Restaurant, on Tabernacle, in St. George, Utah.  I had the chance to go to dinner there a few nights ago.  I called ahead to make reservations and almost cancelled going there because the person who answered the phone wasn’t very pleasant or kind.  But I went ahead and made the reservation and brought four friends with me to have dinner.  I'm glad I did.  

I learned that Capeletti’s opened in the summer of 2010.  It is owned and operated by Andres and Lorena Cappeletti.  On the website that tells about the restaurant it says that “both Andres and Lorena have been cooking since childhood, cultivating a love for homemade pastas and unique sauces over the years.”  The philosophy at Cappeletti’s is “We…

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I recently moved to St. George from the Salt Lake City area and one of the very first things I did upon arriving in St. George was to get myself a Washington County Library card.  What many St. George residents may not know is that you can manage your library account very easily online.  You can search the library catalog, place a hold on items you want to check out, renew items and order materials to be delivered to the branch nearest you.  The library notifies you when your items have come in and you will find them waiting for you to be checked out at the front desk.

The Washington County Library also offers eBooks (electronic books) for you to view or listen to on your own device.  You can easily download these materials from home and you have…

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Sand HollowSand Hollow State Park

If you have not had the opportunity to see Sand Hollow State Park, you need to fit a visit into your schedule.    Sand Hollow became a public state park in 2003 and is about 15 miles east of St. George.  According to the Utah State Parks website, Sand Hollow is a “sprawling 20,000-acre park with recreation opportunities for everyone.”  You can camp, fish, boat, bike, paddleboard and ride an off highway vehicle (OHV) on Sand Mountain which overlooks the Sand Hollow reservoir.  The water is warm and a brilliant blue color.  IRONMAN 70.3 was held in St. George this year and the swim part of the challenge took place at Sand Hollow.

On the south side of the reservoir you will find the Beach At Sand Hollow (BASH) where you can…

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What is all the craziness about pickleball?  If you drive around Southern Utah, specifically St. George,  you are bound to see numerous pickleball players with bright pickleball paddles and many parks with pickleball courts.  The USA Pickleball Association www.usapa.org describes pickleball as “A paddle sport created for all ages and skill levels.  A fun sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong.”  I like pickleball because you spend a lot of time hitting the small plastic ball with holes in it, instead of chasing down the ball like you sometimes do in tennis.  The courts are smaller than tennis courts which makes for fast paced activity.  I also like pickleball because you find after playing the sport that you have had a great…

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