It's a work in progress but we'd like to share the photos of Motor Tour 2011 that folks have shared with us so far. If you have some you'd like us to add, please email them to gina@esembe.com.

Nobody can tell the story of the Motor Tour as well as those of you who experienced it firsthand. So, here it is, culled directly from your comments on Facebook, Motor Tour 2011 in your own words:

General comments:

• "We had a great time." - Brian Burke

• "Had a great time. We traveled 1144 miles in the Corvette in 4 days. Good road trip." - John Weidner

• "The tour was great, we had fun, thanks to all the organizers for their hard work planning fun for us. :)" - Kathy Wester

On June 12, 2011 the Route 66 Association of Illinois held our annual Hall of Fame Induction and Banquet at Lincoln College in Lincoln, IL. Two members were inducted this year, honoring their contributions to Route 66 in Illinois.

Click here to view a PDF of the Hall of Fame Induction Program

Leo Bornder

Leon Bornder of Normal, Illinois, accepting for his late father.

We are sad to report the passing of Jim Allen, former Scotty's tavern owner and an amazing Route 66 character.

Jim died of massive stroke following a heart attack on June 19th. A celebration of his life will be held at Daudermann Funeral Home in Hamel, across the street from Weezy's at 12:00 on Wednesday, June 22nd. The family is inviting everyone to Weezy's following the service for food, drink, and to share memories of the tye dye guy and the adventures of Traveler, the Jackalope.

In a personal message from Association President, Cathie Stevanovich, she says, "Pat and Jim were on this year's Motor Tour with us and we had a great time. I am heartbroken."

Henry's Ra66it Ranch in Staunton, IL is a fun and furry attraction along Route 66!

Admission to Henry's Ra66it Ranch is ABSOLUTELY FREE so stop by and enjoy some "hare-raising" entertainment.

Some of you may have met Montana the Rabbit who held down the fort and greeted guests at the Ranch for years. Unfortunately, Montana has gone to the big hutch in the sky. New friend, Big Red, has hopped in to fill Montana's big shoes as the official meeter and greeter at the Ra66it Ranch.

In Santa Monica, CA, where the Mother Road meets the sea, there’s a place that celebrates Route 66 called the Last Stop Shop. Owned by Route 66 enthusiast, Mannie Mendelson, the store provides a unique Route 66 experience as well as a fantastic collection of souvenirs to commemorate your journey along all 2480 miles of it.

We recently showed you a treasure of Mannie's from his shop - the Bob Waldmire wall. If that doesn't convince you that he's all about Route 66, nothing will!

Great news from Association President, Cathie Stevanovich:

We were notified that we received funds from the National Park Service Grant program for lighting the Luna! The approved funds were for the completion of the sign! Thanks for the encouragement of everyone and we look forward to more details soon!

The following exciting news was provided by Katie Busch, Public Affairs and Communications, Pontiac, IL

On behalf of Sprite and Coca-Cola I wanted to let you know that Lions Park in Pontiac has been named one of 26 finalists nationwide eligible to receive funding for refurbishments through the Sprite Spark Parks Program. Lions Park could win as much as $35,000 for new rims, backboards, resurfacing and other important items that would improve the court immensely.

But we need your help to alert the community! I'm hoping you'll post information on your site and rally some support for the court by encouraging residents to go online and vote for the park at www.sprite.com or www.facebook.com/sprite.

The 2011 Red Carpet Corridor festivities took place the weekend of May 7 and 8, kicking off travel season along Route 66 in Illinois. We got so many comments about all the fun participants had along the Corridor that we thought we'd share what they had to say.

There's no better way to express what it was really like than to quote those who were actually there. These comments all appeared on our Facebook Fan page and we thank all those who took the time to tell us about their Red Carpet weekend adventures.

From Marty Blitstein, our Association Treasurer, who manned Bob Waldmire's bus for Red Carpet Corridor tours: "I had the honor of being in Bob's Waldmire bus on Saturday & Sunday in Pontiac for the Red Carpet weekend. Saturday we had 619 visitors in the bus. Sunday we had 410 visitors in the bus. Thank you for a great great weekend."

Susanne Frumin said, "That was a TOTALLY AWESOME bus and a treat to contribute my handprint to Bob's wall...and photograph booth, too!"

Pontiac, IL has signed up to be one of the "Best of the Road" towns!

You can read all about the contest and cast your vote here:

Best of the Road

If you want to help Pontiac win - log on and vote! You can also write your own Traveler Review to describe what makes Pontiac so special and worthy to win this distinction. Your review could encourage others to vote for Pontiac too!