Photo taken by me 
Up and at 'em
Well today is the day. I got up at 230 this morning after taking a nap for a few hours and 
That view from the window was the last that I was going to see of Utah for the next 3 weeks while I travel the US taking pictures for a book about the Civil War.
Photo taken by me
I normally hate flying because I am not a small guy and don't like being crammed into a tiny seat next to a bunch of other people, so when I was checking in online for my flight a few days ago and it gave me the option to upgrade to first class for a pretty reasonable price, I took it. I have never flown first class on a flight that was longer than an hour, and boy was it worth it.
One of the main reasons I upgraded was because it said that there was going to be breakfast served for the first class. It was a biscuit with egg, cheese, a little bit of gravy and bacon crumbles, fruit and a cinnamon roll. Plus I got as many drinks as I wanted, in real glass cups, not just one tiny little plastic cup of soda.
Another perk that I thought was awesome was the first class baggage and ticket check in. There was a huge line at the counter when I got there, but I went to the first class line and was checked in in about a minute. Then going through security was the same thing. I probably saved an hour of standing around in line.
I also had plenty of legroom and my seat was super comfortable. I was trying not to fall asleep, but I needed to make sure to get the contest results out and send the payments out to everyone because I don't know what the rest of the day is going to be like once I get to New Orleans.
Around the Dallas Airport
Photo taken by me
Once we landed in Texas, I found my gate area and began exploring. There really isn't much to do except walk in circles a few times and see the same overpriced stuff. I don't know why people by some of the crap from these fancy stores here in airports when you can order the same stuff from the internet for a fraction of the price.
Photo taken by me
In the middle of the airport they have this goofy little castle for some reason. I'm not really sure what this castle has to do with Dallas or an airport but it is cool, I guess. It looks like a kid's art project that they threw together a few minutes before class and didn't let the glue dry all the way before they put more and more pieces on, so the pieces all shifted as the glue dried.
Photo taken by me
So now I am waiting for my next plane for this adventure to truly get underway. Over the course of the next few weeks, it is going to be an emotional journey while we go to all of these different areas where these historic battles took place.
Facts about the Civil War
The Civil War lasted from 1861-1865 and was the worst war in American History. More than 620,000 of our own countrymen were killed by each other during the war.
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. About 52,000 men were killed, wounded or missing in action when the battle was over. This was also considered the "turning point" of the war when the South was said to start "losing" the war. One thing I know first hand is that there are no real winners in war.
After the war was over, the constitution was amended to abolish slavery, to assure that slaves had “equal protection under the law."
I am looking forward to sharing my experiences of this trip with all of you over the next few weeks. I have all of my video equipment with me and I am hoping to find the time to put together some mini video documentaries as well as some documentary photography posts.
Thank you all for stopping by and taking the time to read about this adventure I am about to embark on. I better wrap this up. My plane is boarding in 9 minutes. I will keep you all updated.
You are all awesome