International Travel Alert (credit cards, talk, data, text)

I made a few telephone calls for Jim when we were on the  Digby Bay Ferry to Nova Scotia on July 17, 2013. One of his credit cards was declined & we learned that the credit cardcompanies needed to be notified prior to leaving the United States. I then checked my data information and it appeared as if I had plenty of text, minutes and data but I did see 3 overages. I did not know what that meant but I did paid extra on my cell bill in addition to setting aside a few extra dollars just in case. A few hours later, I received a text from AT&T stating to call them and the call is free. It turned out that I used 8.7 MB of data at $15.00 per MB at a cost of $131.00. I got an international plan for $30.00 for 100MB of data and they waived $100.00. This plan did not include calls or text and a few days later I called to actually find out and was told that I used  23 minutes at $23.00 dollars. This was a dollar per minute. Again I got another $30.00 international plan giving me 80 minutes and they put the 23 minutes under the plan. I also got a $10.00 international plan for text. All minutes, data, text and voice mail is included even if I do not answer the telephone. It was suggested that I turn off the cell telephone while on the Harley.

JUST BE AWARE

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

On Monday, July 29, 2013, The Marriot Hotel in Springfield Massachusetts extended the courtesy of holding our luggage while we visited the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. We learned that this present location is the 3^rd one. It keeps growing.

It was established in 1959. Funds were raised and the building opened on February 17, 1968. This was at the Springfield College where Naismith invented the sport in 1891. Seventeen years later and more than 630,000 visitors, a new building was constructed beside the Connecticut River and recognized women for the first time. This was in 1985. In 2002, the new building was moved 100 yards into a $47 million facility. To date, the hall honors 314 individuals and 9 teams.

James Naismith invented basketball in the winter of 1831. He was a 30 year old physical education instructor from the local YMCA in Springfield. He wanted a game that could be played between football and baseball. He was interested in the development of the triangular relationship between the mind, body & spirit of young people.

Jim and I were there for about 2 ½ hours. After coat checking my helmet, the hall took our picture and we purchased it once we completed our touring. There were two floors of exhibits and the first floor was a basketball court. People of all ages were having fun shooting balls. We read so many informational boards; saw trophies, rings, pictures, interactive stations and other exhibits. We, of course took pictures. It was so much fun. I knew that Jim would enjoy it, but I was surprised how much I, too enjoyed it.