Today we are heading back to Monterrey and will take advantage of all the big roads we can. As we are leaving the motel we meet two riders from Monterrey on big Harley full dressers. Motorcyclists are the same the world over and we talk about where we’ve been and where we’re going. Throughout the morning we will hopscotch each other north. These guys move!

It’s darn cold and we stop quickly to add more layers. The highlight of the route are the mountain passes around Saltillo. Coming into Monterrey, the haze from pollution once again covers the bases of the mountains and the police radar activity increases. On the way in through town we pass Puente de la Unidad, which is a beautiful cable stay bridge and one of the places I had hoped to see. Mike was shocked that I didn't stop to get a picture, but traffic is heavy and it felt safer to just keep moving. It sure is nice to know where we are going and we quickly find the Radisson.

The parking attendants tell us to leave the bikes off to the side and they’ll watch them. Before the day was over, they’d want us to move them several times. After the first move we told them that was enough and we weren’t going to move them anymore.

As magical as Monterrey was a night we were somewhat disappointed during the day. It still is a beautiful town and highly recommended, but after you’ve seen the town at night with all the holiday lighting something is missing. Most everything is closed on the Macro Plaza as we take another walk around. The plaza has great views of Cerro de la Silla (saddle hill) which is Monterrey's most famous landmark.  We can enter the Palace of Government, but nothing is open inside. Outside is Neptune's fountain, and the Lighthouse of Commerce, which is a large red monolith. At night there is supposed to be a green laser shining from the top but we never did see it.

The pedestrian mall is hopping with a shoe store on every corner. After all, what would you need most on a pedestrian mall, tire stores? We plan on using up as much of our pesos as we can before we hit the border and a nice meal is in the works. The motel is having a New Year’s celebration which starts late at night, later than I want to be up. It’s over 1,400 miles home and I want to get a good rest and an early start. The staff assures us that we can get a meal before that though.

Just in case, we check out other venues. There’s a restaurant chain where the waitresses are dressed as nuns. What nightmare did that come out of? Another place, the Louisiana Restaurant is upscale as are their prices. When we get back to the motel for dinner at the hotel we’re told that they aren’t serving until later that night. We are getting a little tired of the Radisson. Out on the mall we find a Sanbourne’s and have an average meal. This is becoming a New Year's Eve tradition for Mike and I even though this is one step up from the Carl Jrs. in Arizona a couple of years back.

On the way back to the hotel, we walk around the palace, which is right across the courtyard from the museum. Outside is an exhibit which features pictures of children from the various states in Mexico. Each child is posed before a white sheet in a variety of environments from inside schools to the beach, jungle or even under water. The photos are simple, beautiful and uplifting. You cannot help but smile when you look at them.