And then suddenly I am in Lahaina, the most energized and enervating town on Maui.

CNN: Driving Maui's wild highway

With Lahaina in my rearview mirror, I am swallowed in Kaanapali, created in the 1960's as Hawaii's first planned resort area.

CNN: Driving Maui's wild highway

But Lahaina is also a town rich in well-preserved history, a history that juggled the relationship between the whaling industry and the missionaries during their heyday in the mid 1800's.

CNN: Driving Maui's wild highway

It's easy to dismiss Lahaina (which translates as "merciless sun, " and it always feels that way) as a tourist-riddled sham, and the longer I walk down Front Street, passing scores of men and women in floral clothing, the closer I am to doing just that.

CNN: Driving Maui's wild highway