Heather J.
Yelp
Full disclosure: I pulled into Good Hart full of bad sentiments, my stony heart convulsed with rage thanks to a scenic drive gone to hell. Add one flat tire, a cranky baby, and the skies opening up for a storm to my list of woes when my car cut out. My dream of showing my mother the fabled Tunnel of Trees was at a soggy nadir when we barely rolled into the parking lot of Good Hart General Store this past September. Was I at my best? Hell no.
This charming store sits off M-119, beckoning to visitors with a fairly broad parking lot. The site lurches high above Lake MIchigan, a screen of pine trees and stately oaks lending their shade over the view and the picnic site. On any other day, what a glorious place to sit with a sandwich. Hop up to a bench and enjoy nature at its finest in Northern Michigan. Do not, as I did, stamp around crushing acorns under your feet and glaring jealously at all the other functioning vehicles who did not get a flawed engineering design that sucked up water from puddles into the cold air intake. Admire the berth wide enough for a towing flatbed to pull up while people still have room to walk around!
There are pleasant trails behind the General Store that are best lightly trod down, not stamped along cursing every word you have for rain. As a Pacific Northwesterner of British descent, I have about 49, and another 22 from other languages. Take the opportunity to swing down to the beach. The owners delight in offering directions along with sympathetic looks! I did not get to claim a Petoskey stone from their lovely pebble beach because I hurled candidates instead into the foaming water. Whoops.
The various lovely ornaments inside the store split between little necessities and definite goodies. My husband came out with a box of candied orange slices. You've seen their poor cousins in many a country store or a candy shop, usually stale and hard underneath a thick crystallized layer of sugar. These are the kingly treats that smell heavily of blessed citrus, and are soft and chewy in ways I've never imagined before. Even with my mouth twisted up ready to cry for how badly my holiday turned out, the candies were abominably good. What mischief was this? The sort of thing that kept three stressed, frazzled adults entertained for many miles between Petoskey and Detroit, that's what.
Super-friendly staff at the general store made my husband and baby's day much better, since they were sweet enough to provide hot water and a few towelettes after the little one decided to go and add a cold to our list of miseries. Their pastries were top-notch and fairly priced, filling my mom up while we waited on a cab to come from the far side of Pellston to get us back to our hotel. They went the extra mile to do nice turns, and I'm determined to return and give this place the proper review it deserves.