You could always stop by Livermore and regale her with fascinating stories of nuclear technology and fucking nothing else! But really, if you have the time, try to follow Highway 1 for a while. It's one of the most gorgeous things you'll ever see.
1) Having grown up in Los Alamos, NM, Livermore is where those pussies who bitched about how far they were from San Francisco came to have their lives destroyed when their parents moved from an exurb of a major metropolitan area to the middle of bum fuck nowhere a half-hour's drive from a fucking Taco Bell. FUCK Livermore. 2) I spent 9 days driving the 1 as far as the 1 goes. I agree with you... until you get to the Oregon coast. Everyone who yammers about the Oregon coast is getting out and walking around; if you're driving the 1 in Oregon, you're in a tree tunnel for six hours.
Yeah, our family moved there from Oakley. So... San Ramon was a step up? Not that they could afford to live outside the desert anyway, but hey, 2000 was one hell of a year to buy an $800k house you couldn't afford. The 1 is great only in CA. Between the Bay Area and San Simeon is exquisite, but if I'm in Cascadia there are way more beautiful things to see. Also, I'm aware you have minors aboard and whatnot, but there are some absolutely incredible breweries you could hit up on your way through NorCal. I usually do a mix of Lagunitas, Mendocino, Russian River, North Coast, and Anderson Valley. Three of those are within a half hour of each other.