Enjoying Summertime @ Terranea Resort

long point, rancho palos verdes, california
long point, rancho palos verdes, california

Summer vacation, ahhhh! We’re trying new restaurants, exploring new sites, visiting old friends, playing lots of basketball, swimming, bicycling on the beach and enjoying the charms of my hometown here in Los Angeles County. My brother, sister-in-law, and nephews are visiting and we are having a blast! Earlier in the week we spent a couple days at Terranea Resort on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

terranea grill
pool and the pacific

About a ten minute drive from my home, Terranea is a breathtaking oceanfront resort surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean with Catalina Island across the channel.

catalina kitchen
catalina kitchen @ terranea

The Catalina Kitchen offers indoor and outdoor seating. The patio overlooks the resort pool and the ocean. It’s hard to beat a fabulous outdoor breakfast on a beautiful summer morning.

waffle bar
stone & jett @ the waffle bar

Crispy light deep-pocketed Belgian waffles are made to order. The waffle bar is a kid’s breakfast dream-come-true with chocolate sauce, almonds, gummy bears, chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, chocolate shavings, Oreo cookie crumbles, toasted coconut, as well as the usual accompaniments of syrup, butter, whipped cream, and fruit.

waffle breakfast
stone's waffle creation

And an apple!

waffle, cereal, donut
jett's waffle with his favorite, cocoa puffs

Jett proclaims that he “loves buffets.”

buffet breakfast
adult's buffet breakfast

Not usually fans of buffets, the adults were all quite happy with the quality and selection. On weekends the buffet here also includes dim sum.

learning about falconry

While under construction Terranea Resort became a magnet for thousands of seagulls. Ever eco-friendly, the resort contracted with falconers to fly hawks, falcons and owls over the property to keep the unwanted seagull population at bay. We learned that the mere presence of an owl on site is a strong deterrent to many unwanted birds and rodents.

gyrfalcon
"chin" the arctic gyrfalcon

The largest falcon in the world, the Gyrfalcon pursues birds in flight at a speed of over 200 miles per hour. Just before catching the prey, these falcons typically fly up and then dive straight down onto their target. They can and often do fly long distances, so Chin is fitted with a radio-tracker in order to aid recovery. His handler recently found him quite a ways up the coast from Terranea.

german shorthaired pointer
"robbie" aka "meathead" the german shorthaired pointer

A versatile hunter and all-purpose gun dog, the German Shorthaired Pointer possesses keen scenting power and high intelligence. The breed is proficient with many different types of game and sport, including trailing, retrieving, and pointing. Friendly ambassador Robbie Meathead rides around the resort in the falconer’s golf cart until his services are needed to scare away pesky crows from the lawns.

resort pool @ terranea
resort pool @ terranea

After breakfast and learning about falconry, it was time to head over to the resort pool.

poolside at terranea
the color of summer

pool slide @ terranea
jett's wild ride
nelson's @ terranea
nelson's @ terranea

For dinner, we enjoyed fresh California comfort cuisine along with a spectacular sunset at Nelson’s. It’s kid-friendly and dog-friendly too. Families bring their pooches for a walk along the ocean trails then stop by Nelson’s to sit around the fire pits to enjoy a drink and a snack.

nelson's @ terranea
kid-friendly & dog-friendly nelson's

Nelson’s is named for Mike Nelson, an ex-Navy frogman played by Lloyd Bridges in the TV series Sea Hunt from 1958 to 1961. Parts of Sea Hunt were filmed on the location where Terranea sits today.

Stone recommends his dinner choices at Nelson’s. Start with the warm pretzel and share it with your family, enjoy a crisp caesar salad, for the main course try fish & chips, and don’t forget the ice cream sandwich for dessert!

bavarian pretzel
warm bavarian pretzel, sweet beer mustard, cheese sauce
caesar salad
caesar salad
fish & chips
fish & chips

sunset at neslon's terranea
sunset over the pacific @ nelson's

We hope you are enjoying your summer too!

22 thoughts on “Enjoying Summertime @ Terranea Resort”

  1. oh i’m so jelly you’re enjoying your summer. i’m so replete with work, assignment (not complaining) and travel, so i’m so due in for a great, relaxing vacation! i love the falconry lessons, the dog is too huggable and that pool!! ahhhh, yes time for a vacation!

  2. Oh – it looks like you’re having a GREAT time! I used to live in California – on Coronado. It was lovely. I miss many things about California…thanks for a peek into your vacation!

  3. How wonderful to have a resort like that in close proximity ~ such fun to be able to take your visiting family there. Those Belgian waffles look amazing {I suspect my choice of toppings would be somewhat less colourful but equally naughty}. Enjoy relaxing with your loved ones, Lori Lynn!

  4. I thoroughly enjoyed your pictures and photos of the boys. Takes me back to many buffets. I do enjoy breakfast buffets. 🙂 Have a lovely day and wonderful rest of the summer.

  5. Your photos are exceptional today. I especially love the opening shot, and the kids buffet plate ;-0

    Ahh, the CA coastline is a view I could never grow tired of. I will be in the San Diego area in a few weeks soaking in similar views–can’t wait!

  6. I just returned home from Seattle – enamored with the Northwest and here you are with your California beauties – just breathtaking. I love the solution to the seagull/rodent problem. Might have to invite an owl into my home! Happy vacationing!

  7. Your family is the best, looks like you had a fabulous time, you have such beautiful views all around you! When I was a 17 I was going to hitch hike to California with my girlfriend because we wanted to live there, but we got talked out of it! Darn it!

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