As we made our way from Sausalito California to our next major stop, we were told by everyone, including our guide book that we must stop at Muir Woods.   What no one told us was on that particular Saturday there was some sort of race going on.  We drove and drove looking for a parking place until we realized that we would literally have to walk miles just to get from our car to the actual woods!  It was insane.  We had driven quite a bit out of our way just to see Muir Woods and now had to work our way back to our quickest route.  As we were driving along, we saw a sign for Muir Beach Overlook – so we pulled over so that we could at least say we saw something in Muir Beach, California!