Erica Mena engaged to Rich Dollaz, steals the show at Love & Hip Hop Season 3 Premiere Party

If you want to stand out at a Love & Hip Hop Premiere party then you’ve got to being it! And damn did Erica Mena bring it last night in New York City as the ladies turned out for the Season 3 kick off bash at Kiss & Fly!

Mena was sporting the very revealing “Her” dress designed by Elizabeth Flores of iCandyCouture, which was 99% see-through mesh and 1% silver sequins. (The percentages weren’t actually that extreme, they just seemed that extreme!)

How about a Love & Hip Hop flip flop so we can check out the backside?

BOOM!

Mena and the rest of the L&HH crew will return to VH1 Monday night at 8/7c with a whole new season of hot mama drama which has helped it become one of the network’s most successful shows. (With an equally successful spin-off in Atlanta!) In addition to the drama, there is apparently some romance heading Erica’s way.

In the preview trailer we see her getting cozy with Rich Dollaz (above), the manager for singer/reality star Olivia. So how serious is their relationship? On Wednesday Erica tweeted a photo of a number of wedding magazines along with the seemingly innocent caption, “Red Eye Flight.” The photo had fans wondering if Erica Mena and Rich Dollaz were engaged, and that’s exactly the questions posed to the couple by TheJasmineBrand.com at a recent Love & Hip Hop Season 3 screening.

The Jasmine Brand: We were all over your Instagram and we noticed some wedding ‘stuff’. What’s up with with that?

Erica Mena: Ummmm.

Rich Dollaz: Because we’re gonna get married, soon. Probably this summer.

The Jasmine Brand: Are you engaged, in real life?

Rick Dollaz: Yes, we are engaged. That’s my girl.

It doesn’t get much clearer than that! (Although it does seem strange Erica wasn’t wearing any ring bling last night, especially since a HUGE diamond would have matched her outfit perfectly!) Congratulations to Rich Dollaz and fiancee Erica Mena (Soon to be Erica Dollaz?) I’m thinking Erica may need to take inspiration from Honey Boo Boo and adopt the new catch phrase, “Dollaz make me hollaz, honey boo boo child!” ***SNAP SNAP***

Here are Erica and Rich “gettin romantic with it” (to stick with the Honey Boo Boo theme) at last night’s shin dig via @GlobalGrind:

Oh, and in case you’ve got an upcoming event you want to pwn, you can purchase your very own “Her” dress (in varying colors!) for only $500.00. Just head over to icandycouture.bigcartel.com and grab you one now! ***WARNING*** In order to pull off the “Her” dress you have to have a stunning body. Otherwise, it will backfire on you.

Let’s take one last look, shall we? This photo is courtesy of @BlogXilla:

Grrrf! I honestly don’t know if there’s a finer reality star on the planet right now!

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Celebrity Sightings and Gold Nuggets

Kir & Pacific found some gold!

We had three Gold Rush to Porcupine Tours last week.  Each one was a unique experience.  My first tour went out last Monday with a local Haines family.  They had the cutest 4 year old, Pacific, who loves to gold pan.  She brightened up like the sun when that yellow nugget popped out of the dirt.  The family took me out to eat at the famous 33 mile restaurant afterward – sooo good, yum.  It sure is great being a tour guide in Haines!
On Wednesday I stood at Port Chilkoot Dock trying to drum up gold lovers to take my Gold Rush tour.  My husband, Joe, made me a felt sign (he is “The Feltist” Artist, his art is on exhibit at Sheldon Museum right now) and an easel.  He is a very handy man!

My hunky honey and the sign he made out of felt.

My parents are in town visiting from Arizona and hung out at the dock with me to watch all the action.  Having a big Holland America cruise ship in little Haines is entertaining in and of itself.  My parents stood in for me when I took a little break just after 11am.  Wouldn’t you know it, when I returned my Mom was beaming, they got a couple who wanted to go pan for gold.  They are natural salesmen, I wish I could have them do that all summer.

Mom & Dad at Port Chilkoot Dock in Haines Alaska50th Wedding Anniversary for both couples
who married on the same day.
They met this day for the first time.

I had two couples for our 1pm departure.  My parents, along with Thomas and Mary.  We found out they were on their 50 Wedding Anniversary Cruise and what a coincidence to find out they were married on the exact same day as my parents, both of them 50 years ago!  Coincidences are so……mysterious?  My parents said they would call this trip their 50th celebrations also.  We panned for gold at the Schnabel’s Big Nugget Mine on Porcupine Creek.  It is so fun to see people get into the spirit of gold panning….especially when they start seeing big yellow gold nuggets.  They don’t call it Big Nugget Mine for nothing.
We took a drive around the historic Porcupine City townsite and what do you know….the film crew was beside the road filming a person in a big white trailer.  When he stepped down and out of the trailer we saw it was Jack Hoffman himself (the father in Gold Rush: Alaska)!

Jack must have come back for their white trailer that has been parked in the historical townsite of Porcupine City, because when I drove through there again on Saturday the big white trailer was gone.  Must be back to the Yukon for him.  I didn’t take a photo of Jack at the trailer since the camera men were there and they were in the middle of shooting.  This photo is from Jack Hoffman’s visit to Haines in May (see early blog on Tourism Night in Haines).
On Friday I took two families that had a cruise ship stop in Skagway.  I picked them up from the fast ferry after their 45 minute catamaran ride on the Lynn Canal.  One family was from the Disney ship and the other from the Carnival ship.  We don’t sell our tours on the ship.  These people searched the e-net ahead of time to find the Gold Rush to Porcupine tour.  That means they are big fans of the TV show Gold Rush: ALASKA, the same show Jack Hoffman stars in.  My parents came on the tour again as well.  I think they have Gold Fever….big time.

Visiting at the 27 mile pull out

I could feel the excited anticipation of the group as we drove through the Bald Eagle Preserve, on our way to Porcupine Creek and the Big Nugget Mine. When we pulled into the mining area we were met with a great surprise….John Schnabel got out of his truck with his grandson Parker and welcomed us to their mine!  He is such a cool and lovely man at his ripe young age of 91.  He has been under the weather and had not been to the mine lately.  Parker said John was not completely well yet, and he should be at home recuperating.  John said he just cant stay away.

John Schnabel greeting a Gold Rush: ALASKA fan

John let us take photos with him.  He chuckled at the thought we even wanted to.  We told him he is a celebrity now, he better get used to it.  He laughed and made us all feel welcome.

The Valdez family from Texas with Parker and John Schnabel

Parker gave us pans with some dirt and pebbles in them and taught us how to pan for gold.  Everyone found Gold Nuggets in their pan! Some of the tourist are into gold panning so much they even brought their own pans and sniffers.  It was great fun.

Gold Panning at Porcupine Creek’s
Big Nugget Gold Mine

Parker took us up the river a little bit to show us where they are getting the dirt.  Parker is such a cute kid, being a 16 year old gold miner, I think he is going to steal the show next season.  He said he can’t talk about the Gold Rush: ALASKA show.  He has signed some confidentiality papers, but I heard rumor he is being filmed a couple of times a week by the Discovery Channel film crew.

Parker Schnabel is the big boss at Big Nugget Mine

We stopped at Schnabel’s veranda for a nice view of the Discovery Channel’s Gold Mine.  We couldn’t see anyone working the mine or walking around that day. Everyone had hoped to see Dakota Fred, whom it is rumored is the guy working the gold mine this summer.  We took photos of the location anyway.

New equipment coming to the mine

On our way back to town we got stopped by a truck blocking the one lane dirt road we were on.  As we pulled closer to the truck Dakota Fred himself got out of the vehicle and waved at us to stop as he came up to my window. My bus load of fans exploded with excitement!

Ken & I are having fun with Dakota Fred from TV show
Gold Rush ALASKATina, Eloy and Natalie meeting Dakota Fred

They may have thought it was all staged because it was so perfectly timed, but it was just good luck and perfect timing.  Fred was all business when he kindly let me know I would need to pull over to the side for 10 to 15 minutes as a semi-truck was on the road coming our way, pulling a low boy with a heavy load.  I said that would be no problem if he would be willing to take photos and sign autographs while we wait.  Fred seemed as tickled as the guests at such a suggestion.

The Albertson’s from Utah with Fred Hurt A.K.A Dakota Fred

We pulled to the side of the road and piled out of the bus.  Everyone got a photo with Dakota Fred (Fred Hurt) and an autograph.  It was the perfect end to a Gold Rush to Porcupine tour.  I cant wait to see what this week will bring!
Happy Panning!

The Valdez family with Dakota FredA nice miners creed on his hat.
If you can’t grow it, you GOTTA MINE IT!
Metal, Oil, Coal.The Martin’s from Arizona meeting Dakota FredAll you miners may know what this equipment is…
It came all the way from TexasGetting hugs from my favorite miner, John Schnabel

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PHOTO Adriana de Moura is already married! See her marriage license from 2008

Adriana de Moura and Frederic Marq decided to tie the knot in a dramatic moment during last month’s season 2 finale of Real Housewives of Miami, but as it turns out, these two have been pulling our chains all along. According to online records, they already got married in 2008!

On November 4, 2008, Adriana and Frederic applied for the marriage license and exactly one month later, the couple tied the knot in Miami Beach, which means all that “I’m not ready” talk was all a bunch of shullbit.

Rumors flooded the web earlier today that the two were possibly already married, and not surprisingly, both Adriana and Frederic have denied the claims on Twitter.

When one fan asked Adriana if she was already married, she simply said, “Not yet,” and when Frederic was asked the same question, he replied, “No.”

While the license lists the couple’s status as “married,” there are a couple of possibilities that would mean they aren’t any more — an annulment or a divorce. (If you’ll notice in the image above, there is a little asterisk beside “Married” under the couple’s status. There is a note at the bottom that reads: “*Please Note: This record does not reflect subsequent termination of marriage by Divorce, Death, or Annulment.”) However, if Adriana and Frederic were married, and then had it annulled, shouldn’t that have been stated on the show? Either way, the secret is out now.

It should be interesting to see what they have to say about this marriage license hitting the web.

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First Cruise Ship Day in Haines Alaska

Tourism Director, Tanya Carlson – Mayor Jan Hill – Tour Operator, Adam Patterson
Enjoying the new look of Haines as they wait to greet Cruise Ship guests

We did it! The first Cruise Ship Day in Haines was a big success.  Southeast Roadbuilders, who were constructing our new Bus Parking Lot and Restrooms worked their little hearts out till 2am on Cruise Ship day and completed a large majority of it.  It is pretty amazing what people can do under pressure.  It will be a great addition to Haines.  We are steadily giving this pretty little town a much needed face lift.

Don’t get me wrong, the natural Haines doesn’t need any help at being beautiful.  It is the folks who live here that need to work hard at making our man made areas worthy of residing in such an awesome place.  They say,  ”If you build it they will come”. So come on tourist, come try out our 2 million dollar restrooms!  I did. They are great; clean, classy and real uptown.

We even have a bench for the men to sit on while
waiting for their women.We just have the curb to finish.
Another highlight of the day was when I got to follow the wonderfully artistic Jen Reid on a tour called “Haines Off the Beaten Path”.   This is another unique tour offered at Rainbow Glacier Adventures, the company I work for.Jen Reid showing us how to enjoy every moment
I have lived here 3 years and was glued to my seat while hearing Jen describe a side of Haines I had not seen before.  She has lived here approximately 30 years and has raised 2 children in an area of Haines that didn’t have electricity until about 10 years ago. Outhouses are common. For water people have wells, and they all use natural springs too.  Some have to kayak or canoe to their homes, or wait for the tide to go out so they can walk across Mud Bay to their dwelling.  The tight-nit community of artists live 7 miles outside of downtown Haines, but it might as well be 7,000 miles with how different their subsistence, earthy, productive, artistic life style is from my own two bedroom apartment, frozen foods and satellite life.John Svenson came out to meet us at Extreme Dreams Art GalleryJen inviting us in the Extreme Dreams Art Gallery

Jen took us to the Extreme Dreams Fine Art Gallery at the edge of Chilkat State Park where we met Owner and Artist John Svenson.  John is an extraordinary artist with many pallets to choose from, like; glass, painting, beads, vessel forms and his wife Sharon creates textiles and mosaic mirrors.  Jen creates beautiful jewelry that is also on display at the gallery

Jen Reid’s artistic, beautiful jewelryJohn Svenson and Jen Reid tell guests the juicy secrets of Haines

John and Jen delighted us with stories of the local artists and how they live.  They have potlucks and bon fires on a regular basis. They have a community garden and share their “catch of the day” with each other when crab potting, fishing, and netting.  They all have many talents and skills.  Jen credited that from living without televisions.  I have always wanted the inside scoop to this world so close and yet so far away from my own.  I felt my creative juices flowing just by being around them.

John Svenson’s Art Studio – an amazingly cool place to create

Artist’s are the spice of Haines…. and even a place as beautiful as Haines can be enhanced with a little spice.

The community garden at the Fairgrounds which we visitedWe also visited Dave Pahl of the Hammer Museum.
He is as interesting and unique as his museum
This hammer saved his dog from drowning in
his car when his car sunk into the Lynn Canal.
You have to hear him tell the story.

Haines Alaska is full of characters that are as beautiful and unique as the landscape.

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Richland Police Seek Suspect in Attack on Woman

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The story in the Tri-City Herald today talks about an attack on a woman. 

Sometimes we forget things like this can happen in this town!

It doesn’t hurt to be a bit self aware and take percautions incase something like this happens to you.

Pepper spray perhaps on a key chain would be a good idea…

Do you feel more afraid now that you’ve heard this story?

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It takes a Leap of Faith to Pan for Gold at Porcupine Creek

Excerpts from RGA Tour Guide, Holly Jo Parnell at HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspotcom

With gold sky rocketing over $1700 an ounce recently, our Gold Rush to Porcupine Creek Tour is starting to be more than mere entertainment to our tour guests. Even small gold nuggets are worth something. Young and old, People want gold!

John Schnabel telling young prospectors; Mike, Farris, Errol and Matt how to pan for gold.

I have become a pretty good gold panner since I get to show tour groups how to pan for gold almost every time we visit Big Nugget Mine at Porcupine Creek. In fact, I became a little over-confident about my gold panning technic and lost my gold in the water trough on one of my tours. My happy tour guide persona quickly vanished and was replaced by a gold fever lunatic who just lost their fortune. I rolled up my sleeves and told all the guests to step back while I franticly panned the mud at the bottom of the trough. Everyone kept silent as they could tell I meant business. It only took me seven times of scrapping mud from the bottom and panning it to recover my lost gold nugget. I breathed a sigh of relief as I dropped my sweet gold nugget into my “poke” and came back to Tour Guide mode, all fun and games and happiness again.
I was pretty embarrassed about that incident until a few tours later when John Schnabel himself (Big Nugget Mine owner) lost his gold during a panning demonstration. He looked at me and said, “In 25 years I have never lost the gold”. He didn’t bother panning it back out of the trough, he just went to his safe and got some more gold. I noticed him eyeing the area he lost the nugget though. I’m sure he panned it out after we left.

Rainbow Glacier Adventure Tour Guests; a couple from Canada and locals Kim & Hunter get a rare gold panning demo from a “real” Gold Miner of Porcupine Creek,
John Schnabel of Big Nugget Mine

This last tour I found out that losing my own gold is not the worst thing that could happen…..losing one of my guests gold is. I was panning with a nice couple, Julie and David, from Virginia when I saw a gold nugget come into view in Julie’s pan.
I exclaimed, “Julie, you got gold!”
She said, “Where?”
“Right there!” I pointed excitedly at a beautiful round yellow nugget that looked decidedly different than the one I had discovered while giving them a gold panning demonstration. That was why she didn’t believe it was gold I guess, it looked really yellow, my nugget had more iron in it and caused it to have a reddish tint. Julie’s gold looked very pure.
She said, “That is just a yellow rock.”
“No, it’s gold, and a pure piece of gold…less iron in it than mine!”, I exclaimed.
She looked at me skeptically.
“Its gold alright, look here, see…”, To convince her, I picked her gold nugget out of the pan and started turning it over in my fingers when – PLOP – down it fell, out of my fingers and into the watery trough! Oh My Goodness! We both looked at each other in dead silence, then down at the murky water.
“Ah…hopefully your right Julie, maybe that wasn’t your gold” I backpedaled, wishing I hadn’t made such a big deal about how pure and pretty her gold looked compared to mine.
“That looked like my gold.” Julie proclaimed with a 180 degree turn from a few moments ago.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get it back” I said as I started digging into the bottom of the trough with my pan.
“You better”, she said, somewhat teasingly, somewhat not.
I cleared my throat and confidently told her, “No problem, we will get it back in no time.”
We both started panning the bottom of the trough to no avail. After multiple attempts we asked David to join us in the search and I mentioned to Julie that if we couldn’t find her gold she could have the nugget I found. She said she wanted “her” gold piece, not mine. Oh shoot, any gold nugget was not going to appease her. She wanted the pretty round yellow nugget that was meant for her. Ugghhh. I panned more furiously.

My gold nugget to the right there – the one I offered Julie as a
consolation prize, but was rejected. Mine is long and flat
with more red coloring, hers was fat and round and pure yellow.

After scraping the mud from the cold water over twenty times my hands started to feel numb. We are on a real Placer Mine at Big Nugget Gold Mine in Porcupine Creek….we don’t heat our water.
I began losing hope, and started talking seriously about the possibility she may have to take my gold nugget as a consolation prize and when I found her gold I could mail it to her. The look on her face told me that was not an option. I was going to find “her” gold…or die trying.
So I said a little prayer. I know, this is not really a praying matter, but I could not think of anything else to do and my back was getting sore, my hands were pass the numb stage and starting to grow icicles. I just wanted the nightmare to be over, so I prayed a silent little prayer in my heart to help me find this reluctant gold nugget.
Presto! Like magic, that round yellow gold nugget appeared on top of the mud I had just scooped up from the bottom of the trough. I didn’t even need to pan it out. It was gleaming on the top of the panned mud like it was King of the Mountain! How cool is that?

Julie’s shy little gold nugget safely found at last!

Now I don’t want to turn this into a religious blog or anything, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due. That is how I got Julie’s gold nugget back to her. She was a happy gold panning tourist again. All was well in the Tour Guide World.

Jenny Lyn Smith with her daughter, Sabrina & family,
visiting from Utah – they were all successful at Gold Panning!
Sometimes we Tour Guides have to go to extreme measures to insure the guests have a wonderful experience. This was one of those times…and frankly, I wish I had thought of praying sooner. My hands wouldn’t have froze and I wouldn’t have to be rubbing “tiger balm” on my back every night since then.

Tags: Gold Rush Alaska, HainesAlaskaTourguide.blogspot.com, LovingHainesAlaska.blogspot.com, Porcupine Creek Alaska —

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