Publisher: The Traveling Praters - Fun, family friendly travel throughout North America

Welcome! I’m Tonya, the voice behind The Traveling Praters. I’m wife of 21 years to my high school sweetheart, mom to two teens and a young adult and one rescued pound puppy. I love to travel, write, take pictures, and share travel tips and advice with anyone who asks. Though my family had always enjoyed a road trip here and there, it wasn’t until nine years ago that our adventure really began. My husband was offered an opportunity to take his job on the road and we jumped at the chance. We spent many, many nights in various hotel rooms in places like Virginia Beach, Knoxville and Atlanta. In 2009, we bought a motor home which became our house on wheels for just over a year. We briefly settled down in Huntsville, Alabama and put our full-time traveling on hold before moving back to our hometown in Ohio two years ago. Though we are no longer “on the road” as a full-time RV family, we certainly don’t spend much time at home, instead, preferring to discover the US one state, roadside attraction, museum, zoo, battlefield, or park at a time. My blog, which originally began as a means to keep in touch with family and friends “back home”, has gradually grown into a valuable resource for family friendly travel. Since my husband and I have always educated our children at home, it’s only natural for me to place some emphasis on field trips and educational travel. You may notice that my kids are getting older, which means in addition to family travel, I’ll also share some empty nest travel as my husband and I transition from traveling with five to traveling with two. Some of my articles include tips that I’ve learned on the road, ideas for saving money while traveling, reviews of the destinations that my family has visited, and on occasion, I muse about the places we one day hope to visit. Some of my popular posts include: 10 Tips to Keeping the Peace when Traveling with Teens 7 Ways to Occupy the Kids on Road Trips without Electronics Sample Three Day New York City Itinerary with CityPASS (and Teens) Exploring Family Friendly Kelleys Island Malabar Farm Restaurant Snow Happens: An Encounter I could have done Without In addition to my site, I’m also the Ohio Traveling Mom for TravelingMom.com. My travel tips have been published in the new Live SoFab publication and in the Spring 2009 print edition of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. I have been a contributing author for Full Time Families Magazine , On the Company Porch, The Homeschool Village, The Homeschool Classroom and The Curriculum Choice. My guest posts have appeared on RVParking.com, HotelCoupons.com, AboutOne.com , i.See Kissimmee, and a few other sites. I also served for many years as author and editor for an offline publication, The Beacon, for my local homeschool support group, Training Leaders for Christ. I enjoy speaking to groups and have been a speaker at local homeschool support groups as well as the CHEO, Christian Home Educator’s of Ohio, state conference where I’ve spoken about Educational Travel and a other topics pertaining to homeschooling. Be sure to read about my family to learn more about the rest of The Traveling Praters.