Travel only thirty minutes south of the Los Angeles airport (LAX) to find family-friendly paradise at Terranea (terra-NAY-ah) Oceanfront Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.
Recently, I flew to Southern California for a relaxing yet educational get-away with seven other food blogging friends at Terranea Resort. Our time together was short, but thanks to our lovely planner, we managed to pack in ultimate learning sessions, rejuvenating work-outs, and exceptional dining.
If you get a chance to spend a tranquil weekend with others in your same profession - do it! Since we are all self-employed women, getting together to learn from one another is one of the most benefitting tasks to our businesses. We covered topics from useful social media sharing tools, to avoiding drama, to helping each other overcome individual challenges. A smaller, more intimate retreat like this is so much more rich versus a large conference where you can get lost in the crowd.
The other dynamic women in attendance, all who I completely respect and adore in this business (from left to right):
- (Me!)
- Megan at Wanna Be A Country Cleaver
- Lauren at Climbing Grier Mountain
- Ashley at Edible Perspective
- Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats
- Liz at The Lemon Bowl
- Amelia at Eating Made Easy
- Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean
Although I missed the first day of the retreat because of delayed flights and didn't arrive until almost 1:00AM, I still managed to wake up with Lindsay and Liz for the 6:00AM Seaside Cycling class at Terranea's Fitness and Wellness Center.
Our instructor was so fun, and the scenery could not be beat! Working out to a beautiful sunrise while watching whales in the distance is my kind of exercise! It was the perfect prep for our day ahead.
After the cycling class, we walked around the resort to catch a few more views of the coastal scenery and take in the fresh air.
We then headed back to our villa for breakfast which was graciously sponsored both days by Stonyfield and Nature's Path Organic. (Thank you!) Each morning I looked forward to our rainbow of yogurts, oatmeal, fruit, nuts and other heart-healthy choices!
During and after breakfast, we started the most beneficial part of the weekend - learning from each other! We took the next few hours to sit together in our relaxing accommodations (the living room of our villa!) and teach one another the best and worst practices of the blogging world.
We took a lunch break, but continued our conversations through our meal -- which, by the way, was a gorgeous setting right outside our villa's patio, overlooking the golf course AND oceanfront! Lunch was provided by the Terranea chefs, using locally grown ingredients and some grown right in the Terranea gardens!
After lunch we spent a little time at the pool. As I was lounging in my chair, I called Ben and told him how much I loved Terranea and could see our kids loving it, too. The family pool includes a twisty water slide and splash pad, while there is a separate adult pool for the ultimate relaxation. On top of that, there are numerous family activities such as kayaking, paddle boarding, discovery trails to name a few.
In the late afternoon, we enjoyed a cocktail hour with appetizers and fire pit s'mores at Nelson's, a casual Terranea restaurant. Once again, we were overlooking the ocean and enjoyed watching the sunset and whales swimming by!
I'm in love with Terranea and hope to have the chance to visit again -- maybe next time with my family! We may not have an opportunity to travel to an exotic island, but I know we can manage flying to the west coast and experiencing the same paradise at a fraction of the cost. No passport or 10 hour flight necessary. 🙂
Disclosure: I was not compensated for this article. All opinions are my own. A gigantic thank you to our trip sponsors: Travel and food expenses were provided by Nature's Path Organic and Stonyfield. Our beautiful accommodations were hosted by Terranea Resort.
