By Jennifer Enright
Focus on
the Family
The Durrua Family
It’s all about the great outdoors for the Durrua family. Parents John and Jenn both spent their childhoods outside and on the water. Jenn’s family was very involved in sailing and John’s father, Walt, was so taken with water sports that he founded Brick’s own Jersey Paddler store out of the back of his Sunoco gas station in the 1980’s. When the old Laurelton Circle was re-designed as a five-way intersection in 1991, Walt took the opportunity to build the charming building that now houses the store on the old Sunoco site. Although Walt officially retired ten years ago, he’s still a daily fixture in the store, while John runs the family business. Jenn works as a speech therapist. The Durrua children, eight-year-old twins Megan and Kate and big brother, Adam, 12, are following in their parents’ footsteps, spending much of their time in outdoor adventures. John and Jenn have recently divorced, but their commitment to raising the children with plenty of outside time has remained unchanged. “We strive as parents to do what is best for the kids with academics and activities,” notes Jenn. “We work amicably to address issues – we really have each other’s backs,” she continues. “We want the kids to have full and balanced lives, with two loving parents,” John adds. Talking with both parents, it’s imminently clear that they are dedicated to providing the kids with lots of opportunities to participate in the activities they themselves love so much.
When describing the children, a theme becomes apparent. Jenn and John both consider all three kids outgoing and adventurous. “I always think of Adam as ‘comfortable in his own skin’,” says Jenn. John brings Adam along to the consumer show for paddle sport enthusiasts in Somerset, NJ, he attends as a vendor each year, where Adam greets, and charms, customers. “I’ve been told he’s getting a great education in business, starting so young,” John proudly states. Adam will also be an ambassador at a youth summit commissioned by an outdoor industry group in Central Park, NY, later this year. Jenn observes that Megan and Kate do not follow the common twin pattern of displaying opposite personalities, instead calling them “pretty equal in nature,” although John says Kate is a tad more “girly-girl”, while Megan is a bit of a “jokester.”
The children’s activities are varied. All enjoy sailing and paddling, and as members of the Metedeconk River Yacht Club, they spend lots of time swimming and sailing regattas during the summer months. They enjoy camping at Round Valley and hiking at Hartshorne Park in Navesink. With John, they’re likely to spend a day waterfall hunting in Pennsylvania’s Dingmans Ferry or biking at Sandy Hook or along the Delaware River in New Hope, PA. Winter finds them skiing on nearby mountain trails, and ice skating at the Wall Skating Rink. For a treat, Jenn and the kids will board the train in Point Pleasant Beach and head to the Red Bank Armory for ice skating. The girls took part in the Point Pleasant Education Foundation triathlon last fall and solo kayaked some Class I rapids for the first time. John and Adam recently completed New York’s Five Borough Bike Tour, a 42-mile adventure! Megan and Kate also take gymnastics at Devlin in Wall. “They all participate in these non-traditional sports – it just works for us,” Jenn declares. “The kids want to try lots of things and I love that they are so well-rounded and engaged in what I think of as life-time activities. They are not ‘TV’ kids – they’d rather be outside, even in the winter. Sometimes I’ll be trying to get something done, and I’ll tell them to go watch television for a change,” she adds with a laugh.
Jenn explains that while the family avoids the local tourist traps in the summer, they love to take advantage of them during the off-season. They enjoy spending cold winter days in the boardwalk arcades or biking around town. A leisurely afternoon spent painting pottery at Git Fired Up in Point Beach is always a hit. Jenn and the kids usually prepare hearty meals at home, but on particularly hectic days, Surf Taco and Point Pleasant’s Hickory Hog are favorite spots for a quick dinner, and Jenn shares the secret of great take-out food available at the Point Lobster Company in Point Beach. For dessert, they often hit Hoffman’s Ice Cream or the Lighthouse Italian Ice, both in Point Beach. When staying with John at his new home in Brick, the family usually cooks at home, often grilling a backyard barbecue.
Each summer, the kids and Jenn join her parents for their annual summer trip on their 36-foot sailboat. Last year, they ventured to Block Island, Rhode Island, with plans to sail to Mystic, Connecticut, this summer. John was thrilled to take Adam on a business trip to the Bell Canoe Factory in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, last year, where they were able to test canoes on the lake. They both like to take day trips with the kids, as well. “We’re all stressed for time, and I look for little windows of opportunity to do things with the kids,” says John.
When she gets a bit of kid-free time, Jenn enjoys sailing, sometimes taking part in a local regatta. John grabs a canoe or kayak for some solo paddling time, when he’s not busy at work or with the kids. But both enjoy the same activities with the kids, so that’s often how they choose to spend their time.
As for utilizing Your Child Today’s advertisers, Jenn quickly exclaims her loyalty to Pied Piper Swim School. “All three kids went there for lessons – I absolutely swear by them,” she remarks. “They are so wonderful, they have such patience and skills understanding children. They have quite a method and can overcome a child’s fears by being consistent. I believe it’s so important for kids to be good swimmers, especially living here,” she adds.
John’s parenting advice can be summed up in three words – “never show fear”, he jokingly says. Clarifying, he remarks that raising children has been an adventure unto itself. He loves spending time with his kids, although he notes that there is no such thing as a typical day when they are all together.
For Jenn, it’s important that the kids stay active, but she doesn’t want them to feel pressure to commit to one sport or activity just yet. “A lot of activities push kids to invest so much time that there’s none left over for other things. Unless and until they tell me they’re ready to make one sole thing their focus, I want them to do lots of things. I think it makes them feel successful, to have so many different skills.”
But she’s a bit sentimental about the idea that her children’s passion for outdoor activities can be traced back to their grandparents. “It’s really neat that John’s family passed down the traditions of canoeing and camping, and my family passed down a love of sailing – what a perfect match!”
