After a long couple of months of coverage without a camera, I finally manned up and bought my own camera so I can give you the latest coverage on events that has happened to me in my life. I know there will be many events happening in the coming weeks and I want to photograph everything that will occur especially since school is just around the corner. This is the perfect way to kick out 2008 so enjoy the pictures.
(Note: some of the pictures are out of place so I mention it at the bottom of the paragraph.)
I will briefly tell you what went down on the eve and what I was doing when the new year arrived. Before my sister and I could arrive at our hotel in Independence, Ohio, we had to do a couple of errands for ourselves and for the household. We went and picked up a week's worth of groceries. This is the first time I have been inside a grocery store in a while so I took advantage of it. I bought a couple of items that should help me last until the time I leave on the 13th of January. I also bought some items that I might take back with me to Ohio Wesleyan. You never know how Gatorade or a can or Beefaroni will help the soul in times of need. (Picture: the Sheraton in Independence, Ohio).
After we bought the groceries, we headed home and stock all of the food in appropriate places. I knew that my mom was making a hen for the family on New Year's Day so once I arrived back home, I would not have to touch my purchased food for another couple of days. We grabbed a couple changes in clothing and headed for Independence. Having a couple of hours to spare before check-in at the Sheraton, I went to Inkstop to see about purchasing a camera. I wanted an HP because I was already familiar with the brand; however, they sold out of those camera and I chose a Canon Powershot instead. The Canon camera cost more but I knew I would be very happy with the result. I bought a 2 GB memory card to have enough space for the events later that evening. (Picture: Ornament in Sheraton- antlers used as lighting decoration.)
My sister and I were hungry so we headed to Champps, knowing very well that we can waste a good amount of time just eating good food. If you don't know, Champps is a sports bar, so I was in need of striking up a good conversation about sports. I ordered some Mile High Nachos and admittedly, even I was not prepared to what they presented us. It was too much even for the two of us. My entree was champagne shrimp and chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. I ate most of my entree 
except my green beans... I wanted to make room for dessert. My dessert was a Messy Sundae- the presentation was perfect for the description of the dessert, a glass covered in chocolate and nuts and inside was caramel and chocolate, mixed with whipped cream. I finished the dessert and was stuffed for a good while. I took the nachos with me but I did not eat the nachos in time- they were not good to eat by the next day. The food was good overall, I would definitely go back given another day and circumstance. (Pictures: 1st- actually taken from hotel serving area. 2nd- actually taken on the Nautica Queen. I did not take pictures of the Champps meal.)
We arrived at the Sheraton around 2 pm. I was stoked to get my room. The Sheraton seemed empty until we got ready to leave around 5:30 pm. Everyone was nice, the service was good, and the room looked immaculate. Just check out the pictures. The fifth floor was made to chill out in their lounge and I was surprised by the amount of equipment they had in their exercise room and swimming area. I was so happy and ready to use everything in my sight.
We left the hotel to go towards Downtown Cleveland. Surprisingly, the trip only took about fifteen minutes. I should have known since the Sheraton is right off the highway and the path to downtown Cleveland is pretty straight. Independence is closer to downtown Cleveland than where I live in Cleveland by Maple Heights. We thought we needed to leave earlier to get a parking spot in the Flats but the parking was very empty and the place to where we needed to pick up the tickets did not open until 
around 8 pm. This meant that we left too early. All we should do is kill time once again. To kill that 2 hour difference, we went to another restaurant in the Flats area- Shooters. I did not know what to expect. I did not want to feed my appetite quite yet, I was saving that for the Nautica Queen. Instead, I order a Red Bull and a Calamari Starter. I took it easy for a while. I did not want to drink- there was champagne on the boat waiting for me for the celebration. The area itself was interesting. I took a couple of pictures to illustrate this. Odds are, I will not be back in the Flats anytime soon so I took advantage of that and shot away.
We killed about a hour in Shooters and got our tickets. We waited for a line to build and we jumped in that line to take our seats. Upon sitting, everything we did seemed like a process. We gave our coats to the coat check people near the entrance, we checked our reservations and were shown a table. The table was near a window so we could look out of it to check out the scenery of Lake Erie. We were not the only people at the table- there was three other couple sitting with us for the experience. I got to 
know their personalities well by the end of the ride. There were about 400 people in attendance. People were on two floors and there was an observation deck which, fortunately for us was open. The boat did not take off until about 10 pm when people was well settled in their seats. The package of the Nautica Queen contained this: hors d'oeuvres, food- a lot of meats were presented, champagne, and of course, live entertainment with a live DJ. In my head, I knew this was going to be an interested 
time. For extra, people ordered alcoholic beverages. I am not going to lie, I had a flirtini, not bad I must say. I tasted the pineapple juice more than anything. The night was not as cold as I thought (I thought it would be brutally cold with no chance of wearing just a sweater or a shirt outside). I went to the deck many times to chance pictures. Honestly, it was hard at first to get a good picture because of the night conditions and the speed of the boat. I switched my camera to night scene and 
night snapshot mode and everything became very good. In my opinion, most of the night shots of the city are the best shots I have of the day. By the second time I went back from the deck, the dance was filled with people having a good time. I did not go on the dance floor- it takes a lot to get me on the dance floor unless it is a specific event like a formal. When the clock struck midnight for the first time in 2008, there was a euphoric feeling on the boat and I felt that euphoric feeling as well. The feeling lasted until I left the boat around 1 am when it got back to the dock. The feeling was "I made it through another year."
There was a long line to get off the boat and out of the Flats but I did not mind. We got back to the Sheraton around 2 am and immediately went to bed. I awoke around 7 am and briefly thought of breakfast. I perished the thought and went to the exercise room for a quick drill on the elliptical. I showered shortly after and dressed. We relaxed before we opened the window and realized it is a white New Year's Day. We left the Sheraton around 11:45 am before the conditions got worse. (Picture: the calm before the storm- the day before at the Sheraton. Not available is the photo of the storm.)
Reflecting on the experience, it was one that will be hard to shake because this symbolized a great start to a new year. I hope that this will last for a while in all of the endeavors I do, whether it is school, work, or otherwise. I got to experience life at its best and I am looking forward towards the adventures of a new year. Kiss all of your past experiences goodbye because 2008 is here to stay! YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!Opportunities are arriving in 2008,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10
P.S. There are more pictures of my New Year's extravaganza below. I will let these extras speak for themselves. Enjoy!!
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