As you cruise around the historic town of Haleiwa, make sure you check out legendary Matsumoto's shave ice. Every guidebook I bought about Hawaii said we just HAD to get a shave ice here. Walking in we could tell this place had gotten a lot of press and getting a souvenir T-shirt seemed as important as trying the shave ice to say you were there. In fact about three quarters of the store was devoted to Matsumoto souvenir gear. Apparently this place is a big deal to the local surf crowd especially during the world famous surfing competitions in the winter time so of course we just had to try it and decide for ourselves.
A few minutes past 11am just as they were opening the shop we ordered up, avoiding the huge line that all the guidebooks spoke about. Honestly, it just didn't seem like that big of a deal. In fact, it was unanimous. We all thought Ululani's in Lahaina on Maui was much better, but just was we were finishing, a line started to form as the devoted waited to place their order and partake in this authentic Hawaiian treat. I guess, we can say now that we were there and we tried it and put another notch in our belts. It's always great to try new things and talk about it and compare-I love hearing my kids thoughts and value their opinions.....The best part though is I did come home with a super cute refrigerator magnet that looks like a little shave ice which sits on my coffee machine. I see it everyday and am reminded of those beautiful palm trees on that picture perfect beach and why I think the North Shore is the best part of Oahu.
