Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney O’Halek.
Hi Whitney, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started blogging about my travels back in 2006. My first website was QuickWhitTravel.com, and I posted regularly until January 2025, when my husband died. I knew I needed to shift gears because Quick Whit was young and fun, and my husband Steve was such a huge part of it. I had a six-month-old baby, and I was a new widow, so my whole life, including my travel writing, was going to be different. That’s when I decided to dive in with both feet and start HalfFullPassport.com. My life was suddenly half empty, but I wanted to see my passport as half full.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing about it has been smooth. I have an amazing assistant who’s my web designer, social media strategist, and general right-and woman. She’s the only reason HFP even exists! Trying to navigate widowhood, grief, single parenthood, the probate process, raising an infant as a first time mom on so little sleep, AND starting a business? It’s all.a mess, all the time. But I felt so strongly about being a resource for other widows and traveling single parents, I knew I had to make it happen however I could. A year later, I finally feel like I’m figuring some things out, and people are starting to take notice.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been a travel writer for 20 years, and I love it as much now as I did as a little girl dreaming of being one. I’m known for my realistic point of view, actually helpful information, and beautiful photography. I’ve always said that if I wasn’t a writer, I’d be a photographer, so travel writing for my own website and as a staff writer for RV Destinations Magazine allows me to do both!
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is letting other widows and single parents know that they can give their kids the world. It’s not as easy as staying home, but it’s so much more rewarding. I love the memories of the travels my daughter and I have taken together, and I want to give other single parents the courage to take the trip and make the memories they’ll love forever, even when it seems like life is too hard and anything “extra” is too much.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://halffullpassport.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halffullpassport
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halffullpassport
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@halffullpassport
