The San Bernardino / Riverside area near Los Angeles boasts tourism as its biggest industry, according to an article in the San Bernardino County Sun.

Tourism employed 97,100 people last year, according to a study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

While the bulk of the tourism-related business for the region is in the Coachella Valley, Kyser said the role of the Ontario Convention Center, San Bernardino's Route 66 celebration and the recreational draw of the San Bernardino Mountains can not be minimized.

The next-highest segment, trade and logistics, created 45,000 jobs. 

DarkHorizons.com has the scoop on two more images of characters from the upcoming Pixar "Cars" movie. One is Chick, voiced by Michael Keaton. The other is The King, which is voiced by longtime NASCAR champion Richard Petty. The Petty one (seen above) will undoubtedly be a hot item for stock-car racing fans.

Also, MovieWeb.com has the latest "Cars" countdown poster. Just eight weeks remain. 

Indian Country Today has an article about Arigon Starr's one-woman show, "The Red Road," at the Autry National Center's Wells Fargo Theatre in Los Angeles.

The article describes the play:

Loaded with good-natured jabs at everything from Anglos who love Indians to intertribal backbiting, Starr builds empathy for all the characters that converge during a busy day in the 1970s at the All Nations Cafe on legendary Route 66 in Sapulpa, Okla.

…

Starr masterfully builds the play's momentum as she morphs smoothly through a diversity of characters, ages and genders, from kind-hearted diner owner Verna Yahola, a Creek Indian trucker's widow struggling to make ends meet while caring for her teenaged niece, who is suffering from an identity crisis; to Pawnee organizer of Indian causes Richard Doolittle and his prima donna activist sister, Bonnie; to Emmit, the diner's beloved Navajo fry cook; the handsome and stoic Merle Yahola Jr.; a bingo-loving, insightful Chippewa elder; a vivacious Choctaw country singer; an innocent 9-year-old Kiowa Beatles fan; a Creek disc jockey who broadcasts his live show from the cafe; and an English punk rocker who wants Verna to be his personal guide on a tour through Indian country.

…

The melting pot of Sapulpa along Route 66 is a fitting setting to make the point. Known as the ''Main Street of America,'' the road converges with four other thoroughfares here, and a string of mom-and-pop diners and old-fashioned service stations serve a cornucopia of truckers, Indians and hillbillies, along with a steady stream of tourists eager to experience a slice of genuine Americana.

In case you're wondering, the All Nations Cafe doesn't exist in Sapulpa. It was inspired by a truck stop / lounge in Washington state.

Indian Country Today gives the play a thumbs-up.

Here's Arigon Starr's Web site. And holy cow, she met Brian May, lead guitarist of Queen.

The play runs at the Autry National Center through the end of April. The center's Web site is here. Starr's performing schedule is here.

Starr also is selling the soundtrack to "The Red Road."

I found this item in the Portland Mercury:

Matt McCormick's Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Fest is coming our way later this month, but you can warm up with this single-channel loop of Motor Hotel, an experimental, nonfiction video about Route 66 and American vernacular architecture.

Information about the Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, which is showing the video loop through April 27, is here.  Matt McCormick's Web site can be found here.

So if you roadies are heading up the Pacific Coast Highway, you now know what to check out. 

The New Diner, a blog devoted to reviews of restaurants in the Los Angeles area, found a barbecue stand on Route 66 in Glendora, called Bam Bam Bar B Que.

Unfortunately, the adjective "flavorless" shows up frequently during the blogger's descriptions. I guess we won't stop there next time we're Mother Roading through Cali.

Steve Vaught of thefatmanwalking.com on April 10 marked his one-year anniversary of starting his walk, according to his latest journal entry. He's in Pennsylvania and has only 366 miles left to go.

He's still 70 pounds from his ideal weight, but he's lost more than 130. He's also musing over an uncertain future once his trek is done.

Ginger of That's Ms. Hill to You writes a long and entertaining entry about her trip on Route 66 some time ago after she'd lost her job and, fortunately, received a decent severance package. So she decided to hit the Mother Road.

Here is one of the memorable excerpts from her trip: 

Route 66 runs through Oatman, Arizona, a town in one of the most desolate areas I’ve ever seen. It was 108 in the shade this afternoon while I was out there (but it’s a dry heat). It used to be a mining town, and the burros left behind by the miners are protected animals now. They roam through the streets, sidewalks, sometimes even the stores, at will.

One of the shop owners was telling me that they get a lot of interesting auto insurance claims from Oatman because the burros have no compunction about kicking car doors and eating upholstery. During mating season one year the male of the herd was doing his duty - and continually landing butt first on the hood of someone’s car. By the time he was done the front end was completely trashed. How do you explain that one to your insurance agent?

She also drove the gravel portion of the Glenrio-to-San Jon alignment, which deserves some sort of an award for a rookie roadie.