DSC_6200     Whatever you may have heard, Nicaragua is a great place to visit.  Sure, you occasionally need to bribe a policeman and there are many areas of the country that you shouldn’t go without armed guards, but don’t let that spoil your fun.  My wife, Larry and Mitzi Bodie and myself took off for an adventure in Nicaragua and it paid off big time.  To start with, we rented a beach house that is reminiscent of a Columbian drug lord’s castle complete with its own light house tower and armed guards.  The trip wasn’t all about drug lord style pampering however, we also got to do a little good for the community as we took supplies to two different schools and spent time working with a medical missions team.  Larry and Mitzi pulled more than their fair share of work there.  Mitzi was the triage nurse while Larry help dentists pull teeth!  Kimberly and I weighed babies to ensure they received the right amount of medication.

    We spent a day visiting Leon and Grenada which are 15th century era town with some unbelievable architecture and history.  We took a lot of pictures from the top 100_0925of the Cathedral.  We couldn’t believe they actually let people go up on the roof.  On a different day we hiked to the top of Cerra Negro volcano and sand boarded down the volcano.  Over and hour to hike up, 20 seconds to ride down.  The ground was so hot in some places that you couldn’t even touch it.

    When we weren’t visiting old downs and different volcanoes, we spent our time at the beach house.  The ocean side pool was awesome but we really enjoyed the ocean.  It was a different type of beach that we’ve ever seen before with the rock walls, cliffs, and swimming holes made by all the volcanic rock. 

    To sum it all up, it was the best vacation we have ever had, and I think the Bodies concur.  We plan to go back in October of 2010 and take a crew to help us build some houses as well as enjoy all the rest Nicaragua has to offer.  The people are extremely happy and welcoming and the country has so much to offer it is amazing.  One day it will start to become over developed and start to lose its wonderful culture so get there before it’s commercialized!

– Chad Quesenberry

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Better Late Than Never

January 18, 2010    Category: Albino Bowler   1 Comment »

LeConte     So I was reviewing all the awesome trips that the Albino Bowler had been on during 2009 and it occurred to me that there were some pretty important things that transpired that did not get properly documented… and that ain’t cool!  I promptly started harassing people for material and I finally started getting some responses.  Here is what I’ve dug up so far.

    The month was May of 2009 and the Albino Bowler went on an epic journey to the top of Mt LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  This actually marks the first time the Albino Bowlers trip was fully documented in video (and set to John Denver music to boot!), so I’ll let the video tell the story.  Prepare yourself…

 

 

Special thanks to Jason Graf for putting the video together and awesome pix! Great trip!

– Dan Thompson

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A Very Claris Christmas (Party)

December 24, 2009    Category: Albino Bowler   No Comments »

IMG_3260     Anyone who has ever been around our company or stopped by our offices knows that Claris Networks has a very unique culture and atmosphere.  We pride ourselves in being a light-hearted and fun place to work… and quite frankly our Christmas parties reflect that as well.  This year we did things slightly different and had the get together at our offices; oh, and we had a ping-pong (sorry Andy; “table tennis”) tournament and RockBand throw down.  Yeah… that’s how we roll.  :)   Obviously the Albino Bowler wasn’t missing out on what was quite possibly the best Christmas Party ever.

    The ping-pong tournament turned out to be a wild success.  It was a single elimination tournament and then the final two played to the best of three games.  Much to Zac’s dismay, the tournament came down to a tale of two Daves… David Stilwill and Dave Sagraves, with Sagraves taking the top title and walking away with the prize money.  Make no mistake though, it was an intense battle all the way to the top; with Jay Norris even breaking out his table tennis alter-ego, Arlandro; complete with headband and sunglasses.

    If you weren’t playing ping-pong or out on the porch, chances are you were engaged in an epic game of RockBand.  This particular video game has been a part of our company’s culture for a while and this is actually the second appearance it has made at a Claris Christmas party.  It seemed that the second go around people were a lot less shy about grabbing the microphone and belting out some lyrics… which always makes the experience more entertaining.

    All in all I think everyone, including the Albino Bowler, had an awesome time at the get together.  The food was awesome, the entertainment was great, and best of all we all got the chance to hangout and goof around for several hours.  Good times indeed. 

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

– Dan Thompson

Claris Networks and the Albino Bowler would like to say a special Thank You to our friends Jay Waggoner and Co. over at Veristor for sponsoring our Christmas party.  Thanks guys!

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NoSHAVEmber: Fun with Facial Hair

December 8, 2009    Category: Albino Bowler   No Comments »

    I don’t know who came up with it, or when and where it started… but fellow employee Jay Norris introduced the office to NoSHAVEmber (you may have heard it called “No Shave November”) this year; and being the bunch of nerds that we are… it caught like wildfire.  The idea is simple: you don’t shave for the entire month of November.  Now several people took this a little further than others.  Some, like Zac, didn’t touch a razor to their face nor scissors to their hair all month long.  Others, like Jay, decided it was acceptable to shave your neck… just

not your entire face.  It was actually a pretty amusing little experiment.  We found that some people, like Samat, still can’t grow a beard… and we’re quite sure that Jeff is actually Santa Claus (we think it all turns white closer to Christmas).  I, on the other hand, could not last the entire month.  I made it 8 days and had to give up.  I came to the realization that having a beard and being completely bald looks quite ridiculous… and is quite itchy to boot.  All in all we apparently generated enough buzz about the whole thing that local radio personality Kim Hansard from Star 102.1 wrote a commercial about it for

a local business that does laser hair removal (listen to it below)!  Now THAT is pretty funny stuff in my book.

   Do you know someone who participated in NoSHAVEmber?  Post up in the comments section and link to a picture!  We’ll all enjoy a good laugh I’m sure.

– Dan Thompson

 
icon for podpress  NoSHAVEmber Ideal Image Ad: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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    Okay, so I have a couple of things to admit here… 1) I’m not the biggest football fan in the world and 2) I’ve never been to a pro sporting event of any kind.  Well… unless of course you count our local hockey team.  I will very rarely turn down the opportunity to try something new though, so when our friends Jay Waggoner and Ashby Lincoln from Veristor invited my boss Aaron Sherrill and I to a Tennessee Titans game, I was fired up… and so was the Albino Bowler!

    Aaron and I met up at the office and made the relatively short drive over to the stadium in Nashville.  I had heard for years that the pro football games lacked the intensity of college football, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that there wasn’t any shortage of excitement around the stadium… the fans were out BIG TIME.

After walking around for a couple of minutes, we caught up with our friends and headed inside.  Now, Aaron had actually been to a couple Titans games before, so I think he had an idea of what we were in for when they said “VIP treatment”, I on the other hand had no clue.  After having had the “VIP treatment” though, I can tell you with all certainty that if you’re going to go to a pro football game… this is how you do it!  We were setup with an executive suite to watch the game from; complete with all the food you can eat, all the drinks you drink, and of course, a pretty darn good view of the action on the field.  Oh… and if you happened to miss something (like the tons of bad calls the refs were throwing down), there were a couple of big screen TVs to catch the replays on.  Now THIS is sweet!

    At the end of the day the Titans barely lost to the Houston Texans, 34 to 31, but there was no shortage of entertainment.  I’m also pretty comfortable saying that there was just as much intensity and passion with these football fans as any I’ve run into at the college games in Neyland Stadium here in Knoxville.  I don’t think they could have gotten any louder (and thankfully so because you would probably be well served with some ear plugs as is!).  Aaron and I had a great time and it was definitely a fun experience!  Thanks again Jay and Ashby for the invite!!

– Dan Thompson

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    My wife has been saying “take me to the beach” for some time now.  I tried to pacify this desire of hers by making a stop by the Gold Coast in Australia last year… but turns out April isn’t necessarily the best time to be going AND she was apparently interested in a little more time then a day.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE sitting on a beach and watching the day go by… but when we start talking vacation my mind wanders to far and away places where action packed days are the norm.  Sometimes I have to be reminded that its fun to do… well… nothing!
   We started doing a little digging around and decided on the Dominican Republic as our destination of choice to get some chill-out time in.  I think I’ve almost decided that it really doesn’t matter WHERE you go on this type of vacation so long as the ocean is wet, the sun is hot, and the beaches are sandy… everything else seems to fall by the way side.  If you’re looking for such a spot though, the Dominican Republic is an excellent place with all of the above criteria, and some REALLY friendly people to boot.
   
    The resort we picked was called the Punta Cana Princess and my wife, the Albino Bowler, and I were quite pleased.  The beaches were beautiful powder white, the food was good, the room was nice (although were didn’t stay there much), and the staff were AMAZING.
    So what did we do?  Well… not much of anything really!  My wife and I spent pretty most all our time on the beach.  The Albino Bowler opted for the shade (he apparently burns easy) while we did a lot of moving back and forth between the sun and the shade.  We did get to try some fresh coconut / coconut milk after one of the staff climbed a tree and chopped some down for us.  I’ll have to admit here that it wasn’t that good though.  :)   The milk doesn’t have that much taste… and it’s obviously very warm since it’s been hanging up in that tree all day.  We decided to dump it out and fill it back up with piña coladas.  THAT was a treat.  The Albino Bowler figured out that you could scrape the inside with your straw and cut slivers of the coconut, which makes for a nice addition to the drink.
    In addition to the awesome staff at the resort, the Albino Bowler made friends with a monkey named Meekee.  He said he was initially a little intimidated because the thing was so huge (this is the equivalent of a human standing next to a giant gorilla), but it all ended well.  Turns out that Meekee was just as scared of the Albino Bowler as he was of her so they had a mutual respect for each other.

   Finally, the resort threw a beach party for all the guests one evening, and all three of us attended.  It was an interesting mix of local foods and local entertainment.  The Albino Bowler and I tried some goat meat, (Holly wasn’t up to the task) which was quite tasty, and enjoyed some merengue music.  Good times!

– Dan Thompson

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   So it was time for another Albino Bowler adventure to a concert….this time Aerosmith!

   At 11:00am we all piled into my mom’s car for the long drive down to Atlanta.  It was 4 hours down to Atlanta, GA for the concert.  I spent the time reading a book and listening to music.  At around 3:00pm we met up with my aunt (Judy Fereday) at her hotel to head to the VIP party where we would be able to meet Joe Perry and Steven Tyler.

   We got to the outdoor amphitheater and waited outside the gates to be let inside.  The concert organizers had set up a giant tent with a food bar and Guitar Hero:  Aerosmith.  The first thing that my brother and I did when we got to the tent was play a little Guitar Hero.  After about an hour or so, they started calling people over to meet Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.

   We stood in line for another 30 mins and everyone started cheering.  Steven Tyler and Joe Perry walked outside for just a second and then into the room where you could get the autograph / picture with them.  They let everyone have a turn and the Albino Bowler got his first celebrity picture!  Let me explain what I had to go through to get this picture:  The rules were that you could only bring one item to get autographed.  Security made you put everything you had on your person on a table right outside of where you exited from meeting the band members.  They ran a metal detector over me and found the bowler!  Luckily, I thought fast on my feet and told them that was the item I wanted to have autographed (I actually wanted my backstage pass autographed).  So they let me through with the bowler.

   When it was finally my turn, I told Steven Tyler that I had an unusual request.  He asked me “What would that be?”.  I asked him if he knew what a Flat Stanley was and he replied with “I have no idea what you are talking about.”  I tried to explain to him as quick as possible and pulled the bowler out of my pocket.  I just explained I needed a picture of them both with this doll.  Steven Tyler replied with “Whatever floats your boat, man.”  The photographer gave me a funny look but took the picture anyways.  I also got my backstage pass autographed by both of them.

   After that was over, we went back to the party and picked up a free beer.  Shortly after, ZZ Top went on and did a great job.  They played almost all of their really popular songs like “Tush”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, and “La Grange”.  There was an intermission right after for Aerosmith to set up.  We ran out and got some frozen margaritas because it was so HOT.

   Once we got back,  there was a giant Aerosmith curtain hung up.  They started the concert and dropped the

curtain.  Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were directly in front of my for most of the concert (we were in the 2nd row).  I took some great pictures.  Unfortunately, the concert was cut short by 5 songs because Steven Tyler’s voice started to go out halfway through the concert.  It was still an awesome concert though.  They played some of the really good songs that weren’t on the playlist online like “Mama Kin”, “Train Kept A-Rollin”, and “Janie’s Got a Gun”.  Overall, the entire experience was amazing and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

   We drove home after the concert and I got home at 4:00AM.  I got a quick shower and went to sleep because I had to be back at work at 7:00AM the same day.

– Zac McKinney

 

Special thanks to Zac for the celeb pic!  You only got one picture with the guys from the band, and Zac committed his picture to the Albino Bowler.  Outstanding!

– Dan Thompson

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    Back in June, the Albino Bowler received an invitation to  take a trip to Florida’s lovely Gulf Coast.  This scenic stretch of the Florida panhandle  is sometimes referred to as the Emerald  Coast, sometimes as the Redneck Riviera.  Because the Albino Bowler is comfortable with both descriptions, he decided to make the trip

    Upon arriving at his beachside bungalow, he took a look out over the beach and the clear green water and was pleased to have made the journey.

    However, making the drive from Knoxville to Destin make the AB quite tired, so he decided to rest on a lounge chair and soak up some sun.  It wasn’t long before his travel companions dragged him down to the beach, where he wound up in an uncomfortable situation being bullied by five young roughnecks in the sand.  This was not the first time the Albino Bowler has been outnumbered.  He was able to use his superior intellect to find a way out by digging a hole in the sand and tunneling his way to freedom.

    Once the AB had made his escape he was finally able to enjoy an afternoon in the surf, enjoying the refreshing feel of the cool water washing over his plastic feet.  Things, however, got a little testy when  the Albino Bowler got a little hungry and tried to help himself to one of his fellow beachgoer’s snacks.  A beating and a good night’s rest and things were back to normal the next day.  The Albino Bowler went on a dolphin cruise where he was excited to see many dolphin frolicking with their young.

He was, however, sad to see that the downturn in the economy had taken its toll on some Destin locals.  While on the cruise, the AB decided to take a walk around the deck and catch a few rays.  He narrowly avoided becoming shark food when he slipped and fell off the railing, relying on his magnetic palms to pull him back to safety.  That was a close call.

    Though there were some rough spots along the way…. but the AB enjoyed his time on the sandy beaches of the Florida panhandle and even made a couple of new friends.

– Paul Noe

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     In part one of this trip, the Albino Bowler found himself hanging out in Vegas and then heading out to Rachel, Nevada to see how close he could get to the famed ‘Area 51’.  After spending a little bit of time in the Rachel area, we took off again.  The next stop on our trip, was Zion National Park.

    If you’re a fan of canyons and big red rocks, this is the place for you.  Holly and I had a great time here and it ranked as Holly’s favorite destination of the vacation.  We

decided to go hiking while in the park (of course) and chose the trail to ‘Observation Point’.  The hike itself was 8 miles round trip, and had some pretty sketchy spots where the trail had literally been carved out of the cliffs.  The views all along the trail, and at the point itself, made the trip worth every second though.  Beautiful place!

    Next stop on the trip; Page, Arizona.  Page is home to a pretty popular canyon named “Antelope Canyon”, which may not ring a bell until you see the pictures.  Antelope Canyon is a “slot canyon”, and was very much other worldly.  The walls themselves were, at times, as narrow as a few feet apart and reach close to a hundred feet in the air.  Holly and I spent several hours here, and to be honest, could have spent all day here.  It was absolutely fascinating and a blast to take pictures of (if you’re interested in going yourself, you can find my full review of the upper and lower canyons here on TripAdvisor.com).  As the sun moves across the sky, it completely changes the look inside the canyon and offers the chance for some truly unique photography.  I would highly recommend stopping by and checking this place out.  VERY cool.
    After a short stay in Page, our next destination was Moab, Utah and Arches National Park.  Arches is also a stop that has been on my list for a while (Are you seeing a pattern here?  Lots of life list things on this trip) and did not disappoint.   The only thing slightly disappointing about the park is that there were just so many people there.  The land is beautiful there, but everyone is obviously there to see the arches… so finding one without people in, around, and on, gets to be a bit of a challenge.  I’d recommend planning a trip here during the winter when the crowds are minimal.  Regardless of when
you go though, you’ll be rewarded with some of nature’s beautiful wonders… you might just have to share them with a hundred or so of your closest fellow travelers.  :)

    Leaving Moab and heading South again, you come across a classic American West landscape recognizable by anyone.  Conjuring images of John Wayne and old Western movies with cowboys and Indians, Monument Valley is an American icon for sure.  Holly and I decided to
splurge a little here and stayed at The View in Monument Valley, which is built on the Indian reservation and quite literally just a stone’s throw away from some of the monuments.  Stunning location, and as the name implies, the view doesn’t get any better.  Very relaxing spot.

    The final destination before heading back to Las Vegas was the Grand Canyon… but we managed to stumble upon something VERY interesting on the way just outside of Tuba City, Arizona; dinosaur footprints!   This place was CRAZY.  There had to have been hundreds of prints all over the place, permanently petrified in the rock.  It was as if someone had poured out concrete on the ground and let the guys just have at it.  This was definitely one of those little stops you make, not expecting much, and then you getting blown away by what you find.
    Picking back up on our journey, we soon arrived at the Grand Canyon National Park.  Here we met some friends of ours, Jay and Jennifer Norris.  Jay and I had been discussing a trip out west one day in the office, and as it turned out had been planning to go around the same time.  Our itineraries were slightly different, but both included the Grand Canyon… so we booked it up!

    Hiking is a must here.  We learned while in the park that only 1% of the visitors actually take the time to go below the rim of the canyon, so the Albino Bowler is a member of an elite group.  We chose the South Kaibab trail as it offers excellent views within a relatively short distance.  Holly and I made it as far as Skeleton Point, which is 3 miles down into the canyon, and offers a view of
the Colorado river, as well as an awesome perspective of the rest of the canyon.  The problem though is this… if you walk 3 miles down into the canyon… you have to walk 3 miles back UP.  And it’s straight up, or at least it sure feels that way.  Whew… EPIC.  I will say that the effort is greatly rewarded.  More people should get out of their cars and do this, but as you’ve probably gathered by now, I’m glad there were no crowds.  ;)     Two days at the canyon and it was time to head back
to big city lights and all the craziness of Vegas.  We did happen to randomly stumble upon another American icon on the way back though… Route 66.  I happened to notice a lot of Route 66 memorabilia in a gas station we stopped at and asked the attendant if it was near by… he pointed out the window and pointed to the street outside, “Yeah, it’s just right there”.  It wouldn’t have been right to have not taken a picture!

Till next time, happy travels!

– Dan Thompson

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    It would seem that the Albino Bowler has turned into quite the philanthropist.  A few weeks ago he joined me for the local MDA Lock-up, and this past week he came to the office to participate in a fund raiser for our local Children’s Hospital.  The Chick-fil-a cow also showed up to help raise money, which made for an awesome photo op.  Claris employees were encouraged to invite their families for lunch and fellowship, and for the second year in a row it was a fun little get together.  We also took this time to say goodbye to fellow employee and friend, Jim Garner.  Jim, we’ll miss you old timer!  ;)

– Dan Thompson

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