It's a shame our cottage is so far. Driving for over four hours doesn't invite to visit there every weekend. It requires a bit longer stay to make the drive worth it.
We used to live closer, only about an hour and a half drive away. We used to go there almost every weekend. My parents still do. Our own visits have dropped down to a couple of times per year.
One of those visits is now over. We are back home. Due to traffic and our quick pit stop along the way it took us a bit less than five hours to drive back home. It's nice to have our old hometown along the way so there is always a place to stop there and not having to drive all at once or stop at some random roadside cafe or gas station. Sometimes we have even longer break there.
It feels like the trip itself takes the whole day. There isn't much time or energy for anything else on those days. You pack up, drive there, unload and settle in. In reality there is still plenty of time, but it still feels like it defines the whole day.