Can you recommend where at in the San Francisco area I should stay for a couple of nights? Or should we stay outside of SF? We don't mind driving (obviously, lol), so somewhere outside or in a town close by would be fine.
I don't do a whole lot of hotel stays since I live here. The hotels in San Francisco are extremely expensive, and quite a few people complain about the various social issues (homeless encompments, drug use, etc) so you might not want to stay in SF.
I rather like the hotels around Emeryville, although they're across the bridge. The prices are more reasonable, although they might charge for parking. Emeryville has a Hyatt House, Hyatt Place, Four Points, Hilton Garden Inn, and Courtyard. I set up some visiting friends at that Courtyard, and I found it was pretty nice. I was concerned about freeway noise but when I went in the room the soundproofing was amazing. I'd stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn before after a party, and the freeway noise was distracting.
Also, if you're in Emeryville there's no real way to visit Pixar without knowing an employee, although some people just take photos of the entrance.
There are a few places in Berkeley (Doubletree is fine) I might recommend, but then there are are host of places along University Ave that might be best avoided at night.
Other than that - maybe around San Francisco Airport. They've got many airport hotels, and it's actually well outside of San Francisco proper.
Also - if you're crossing the Golden Gate Bridge - they have gone totally cashless in the toll direction (to San Francisco). You would either need a FasTrak transponder (and hope it works) and/or register the car you're driving for a license plate payment. Rental car agencies have ridiculous fees for FasTrak use.