A rare week on Kauai gave Kerri Walsh Jennings and her family one of the last uninterrupted windows of togetherness as their teenagers begin to move toward independence. The three-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist and her husband, Casey, chose the island not for spectacle but for a pause in the rhythms of everyday life.
The Story in Pictures
Walsh Jennings has spent most of her life on sand, training and competing with a focus on presence. Kauai holds a different promise: a steadiness that brings her back to herself. "I feel a peace and a resonance there that is hard to find anywhere else," she says. The couple honeymooned on Kauai in 2005 and have returned several times since; this trip included their children Joey, 17, Sundance, 16, and Scout, 13.
The first evening set the tone. The family watched the sky change, phones stayed away, and plans loosened. Rather than insisting on teenage distance, the siblings leaned into shared discovery, hunting for hidden beaches, sampling shaved ice, and playing games on the back lawn above Hanalei Bay. "It reminded me that teenagers still deeply crave connection and simplicity," she says, "maybe now more than ever, even if it looks different than when they were little."
Days were active but unrushed: surfing, snorkeling, hiking through the island’s interior, and returning to the local market were central pieces. The trip deliberately prioritized slowness, with long dinners that stretched into conversation, slow mornings with coffee on the balcony, and sunset walks each night as a ritual. "Kauai naturally invites you into a different rhythm if you let it," Walsh Jennings says.
Removing the usual distractions changed how the family spoke to one another. "Without the usual distractions, conversations happened more organically and deeply," she says. "We talked about dreams, fears, life, growing up, purpose, relationships, and what matters most." Surrounded by wild, unhurried nature, everyday defenses came down and honesty moved forward.
What she will carry from the trip was not a single highlight but the accumulation of small moments of witnessing her children. "I remember thinking how proud I was, not of accomplishments or achievements, but of their hearts," she says. "Their curiosity. Their kindness. Their humor. Their spirit."
