I've been getting burnt out in tech for closing in on a decade, now... or at least, working on other people's tech, I think.
Should I use this opportunity to step away from tech completely and invest in getting better at my other hobbies (carpentry, hiking, writing)?
http://time.com/4425061/unemployment-divorce-men-women/
Looks like it causes a lot of couples relationship stress to have the wife be the primary breadwinner and the husband stay at home.
So, you need to make sure you're doing something to contribute financially (or equivalently via some other fruits of your labour) to the family, beyond just the standard work around the house. You don't have to earn more than your wife, but you must do your best to avoid any possible interpretation that you're doing nothing all day, or else you run an elevated risk of relationship issues.
I'm more concerned about myself not being able to rejoin tech when I'm not burned out anymore, or losing skills (not that I have many currently, anyway).
Tech is like being a sports athlete or exotic dancer; make hay while the sun is shining but always be prepared for your next act.
But otherwise, I have taken year long breaks from tech. There was no issue with being outdated; if you're the type to hang out on HN as a hobby, you should be fine. Interestingly, going back and looking at old code gave a lot of insights to what I was doing wrong.
The only issue I had was losing momentum on networking. If you go around rejecting work, they find someone else and people stop recommending you.
Also as someone who has taken a year off, I find that breaks don't cure burnout. Burnout is caused by not having an impact despite hard work. You probably won't have an impact on anyone's life by being good at hiking. It was teaching that brought me out of burnout.
It sounds like you have the freedom to explore your options, and even try them out. You could get there and do some contract/remote work part-time while enjoying hobbies. You should try building products of your own. You could try to profit from your hobbies. You could take a sabbatical for a few months.
Good luck. Doesn't sound like you can make a wrong choice here.
I'm a product development consultant (well I was, before my current role of ASP.Net code monkey), so getting new clients TODAY is difficult -- why I'm a code monkey.
We've always used my income to pay for our extravagances (multiple European vacations per year, a healthy retirement account, never having to look at the bank before we buy something, etc), so this will be different. Which has caused me to be a little hesitant.
But if you have the opportunity to quit, then do it.
There is a gene sequence that women have (men may have it too FWIW) that causes them to be unhappy if their SO isn't "bringing home the bacon." Its an old sequence and is not to be tampered with unless you wish to end the relationship. It is somewhat akin to the "you must bring/buy/provide food on any date" gene, which will also, unless fulfilled, bring any date to an unscheduled premature end.
Just an aside: you'd have to be nuts to quit working to get better at hobbies, unless you're very, very good at the hobbies, plan to work (i.e., make money) in those hobbies and can earn as much income.
Do your best to spend time in the most highly-valued way you can - then you will not go wrong.