{"id":150,"date":"2010-07-12T11:25:46","date_gmt":"2010-07-12T18:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traveltattler.com\/?p=150"},"modified":"2010-10-14T16:07:40","modified_gmt":"2010-10-14T23:07:40","slug":"the-grand-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/library\/150\/the-grand-river","title":{"rendered":"The Grand River"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LANSING, MI \u2013 Most great cities have rivers, but Lansing\u2019s river is grand, according to Pat Gillespie. And he\u2019d like to give residents and tourists the grand tour.<\/p>\n

Gillespie, the creative visionary who heads up the Gillespie Group, headed to the shoreline of the Grand River last week and climbed aboard a deck boat he\u2019d chartered to show off Lansing by sea. Gillespie\u2019s new idea? To create waterway and dinner cruises through the heart of Lansing. This exploratory evening sailing showed off the scenic, wooded views near the Potter Park Zoo; striking, urban scenes such as the Accident Fund building rising above the river; and culminated by going ashore in Old Town for some chic nightlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to give more people to the opportunity to see how cool our city looks from the Grand River. You actually can spend an evening outside enjoying the river in Lansing,\u201d insisted Gillespie, who cites San Antonio, Chicago, Columbus, Fort Lauderdale, and Jacksonville, FL as towns which have benefitted from making their inland waterways accessible. \u201cRight now we have people living on the river and walking or running along the River Trail. The new State Police Headquarters, the Accident Fund Headquarters project, and the creation of the New City Market and Marketplace are examples of development on the river happening right now. I want our region to get a positive vibe by using the waterway we have because one trip down the river is an eye-opener.\u201d<\/p>\n\"\"\n

The boat trip immediately felt like an adventure \u2013 as if we were exploring an uncharted passage. The startled, curious looks we received from people walking along the River Trail revealed there must typically not be much pleasure cruising on the Grand River. MSU students, for instance, could theoretically kayak from campus on the Red Cedar River all the way to Old Town \u2013 and back \u2013 if they wished. Like us, they would be treated to heavily forested areas more like Northern Michigan than the State Capital.<\/p>\n

Gillespie revealed points of interest as we floated down two different arms of the Grand River, with Captain Scotty Straner, of Pinckney\u2019s Chain of Lakes Boat Tours, gliding under overpasses and train bridges.<\/p>\n

\u201cA County Zoo, a widely used children\u2019s museum, a public theater group, historic automotive plants that once drove our state\u2019s industry, a car museum, an operating coal plant, a decommissioned coal plant that is now being restored, a new $185-million-dollar corporate headquarters, and a $35-million-dollar office building getting ready to open,\u201d said Gillespie, playing the role of an excitable Willie Wonka before showing off the site of his new City Market project right smack on the river. \u201cWe have the ability to dock at the first, true Lansing downtown \u2013 Old Town \u2013 and walk a short distance for nightlife and appetizers. And on the way you pass the unique Brenke Fish Ladder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other passengers onboard said they enjoyed seeing Lansing above them at night with all of the lights and unique architecture. Some were amazed at seeing \u2013 for the first time – the riverfront facilities the Lansing Center offers. Other compared the experience to Chicago or Columbus. Some of the views along the river, obscured by trees, seemed to be begging to be opened up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part by far was the trip downtown and seeing just how close the downtown district and Old Town really are. It helped me understand the importance of pulling these two areas together,\u201d said the Gillespie Group\u2019s Rachel Michaud.<\/p>\n

The cruise left many wondering why there isn\u2019t some sort of dining facility or restaurant on the Grand River.<\/p>\n

Gillespie is the sort of fellow who asks that very question, \u201cWhy not?\u201d And he often answers it with action, and investment, instead of just theory.<\/p>\n

“Wait and see. In 10 years, none of us will even recognize Lansing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In September, Gillespie plans a week of informational cruises with media members, city officials, and potential investors to share his vision of enjoying Lansing from the water.<\/p>\n

“The Grand River”
\nOriginally printed in the Talk of the North<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANSING, MI \u2013 Most great cities have rivers, but Lansing\u2019s river is grand, according to Pat Gillespie. And he\u2019d like… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3665],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-library"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":435,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions\/435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}