Tastes Better Than Miami Vice

We took our first family road trip last weekend, up to Oahu's North Shore -- world famous for its big surf and spectacular views. While making our way across the upper portion of the island, we visited Haleiwa, a little village famous mostly for two things: surf stuff and shave ice.






Matsumoto's Grocery Store, a little bunker of a roadside shop opened by Mamoru Matsumoto in 1951, apparently is THE place for shave ice. So on our northbound drive up the center of the island, we kept hyping the kids that they would soon get to try their first Shave Ice, a Famous Hawaiian Treat.

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"Can Finney get one, too, Mama?" Shea repeatedly asked me.

"Of course," I responded, not quite grasping what she meant. "Finney can get one, too."

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Once we arrived at the store, the kids' eyes grew huge as they saw the patrons in front of them receive what must have looked like a chilly rainbow heaven atop a paper cone.

And the syrup selection soon began.

"I want pink and green. And red. And orange. Oh, and yellow," said Shea.

She finally settled on the rainbow combination, the perfect solution for toddlers who aren't quite adept at distinguishing colors from flavors yet.

"And what do you want on your shave ice, Finn?" I asked.

But before he could answer, Shea excitedly interjected with:

"They have Finneyvice, too?!?!"

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Apparently, she thought we'd been saying all day they'd be getting "Shea Vice."