According to Steve Vaught's latest journal entry on his thefatmanwalking.com site, his weight has dropped to 292 pounds. He started his trek at over 400. He has fewer than 400 miles remaining.

The I8Route66 site has added the Flying Star Cafe in Nob Hill to its list of restaurant reviews along Route 66 in Albuquerque. Flying Star is an American-Mexican eatery that earned a 9 out of 10 rating.

I know many Route 66 aficionados are loathe to give restaurant chains any sort of attention. But a tour on April 22 led by historian Chris Nichols explores the very early history of McDonald's, from when the McDonald brothers came to Southern California to when Ray Kroc buys the business. And, yes, there is a Mother Road connection.

Join McHistorian Chris Nichols to discover the rich and hidden history of Richard and Maurice McDonald, founders of McDonald's. Travel in a luxury motor coach down Route 66 and into the Inland Empire where you will visit the sites and people that helped form the world's largest restaurant chain.

Tour stops will include a working orange grove, you'll tour a 19th century blacksmith shop where the first automation tools were invented, a visit to the museum on the site of the very first McDonald's. We'll also meet some of the folks who were there at the beginning. From a carhop to the neon man who installed the very first golden arches.

Information about the tour can be found at the Lost in the Grooves blog here. Tickets are $50 each, with a non-McDonald's lunch, snacks and water included.

Apparently someone reported seeing a mysterious cigar-shaped aircraft in the Mojave Desert settlement of Amboy, Calif.

Here's the report posted at the National UFO Reporting Center.

I wonder whether this was seen in the vicinity also. 

Best-selling author Michael Wallis has confirmed that a Pixar animated short based on the real-life "Spooklight" near Route 66 in Kansas will be included with the eventual "Cars" movie DVD.

Wallis voices the part of the sheriff in the "Cars" full-length movie, set to be released wide on June 9. He and his character, along with Larry the Cable Guy as Mater the tow truck, are in the "Ghost Light" short. Wallis says the "Cars" DVD will be released in the fall.

Also, Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., tells me that Wallis and a Disney film crew will be on Route 66 in Kansas and Oklahoma next week. They will film the people and sights that provided inspiration to Pixar during its production of "Cars." The film eventually will be shown on the Disney Channel and featured on a companion Internet site, "Movie Surfers." Welch, incidentally, provided a part of the inspiration of Sally the Porsche in "Cars," portrayed by Bonnie Hunt.