My Dads rule was that you had to spend twice as long at the destination as it took to get there and back. We have loosely used this and it has worked well.

We would frequently drive to my parent’s in coastal Carolina and stay for three days and it was fine. So, staying for four days would be even better.

You would rather stay home than take a trip? Weird.

Haven’t you ever driven to Charleston? The Tennessee mountains? Canada? New England?

8 hours is NBD as long as you leave around 5am or 6am, pack some snacks/drinks, plan to stop to stretch your legs, etc. If your spouse is driving, you can sleep, watch movies, or listen to podcasts together.

Regardless of how you feel, sometimes you just need to do what makes your spouse happy.

It’s definitely worth it if you make, at minimum, the drive there part of the adventure. Search out a place in advance where you’ll have lunch. Maybe stop at a roadside attraction or other point of interest. Sometimes you don’t even have to plan ahead, just notice what billboards you see or what road signs advertise state parks or landmarks.

I wouldn't do that this time of year to go to the mountains. I would do it to go to a southern beach. HHI, St. Simons etc.