Driving in cars with kids

Is it just me or is traveling with small children one of the most unpleasant things you do as a parent? Maybe it's just my children who seem to have an extra hard time being confined to the car for hours at a time but no matter what I try, it doesn't seem to make things easier. Most families I know have a built in DVD player in their car and this is what makes traveling more pleasant. Or that's what I've been told. The first couple of road trips with all three kids we survived without a DVD player. And when I say survived I mean just that. It was hours of trying to entertain the children and keep them from going crazy. We thought we were all creative by putting boxes together for the older children with things like crayons, coloring books, stickers, flash cards and snacks inside to keep them busy. Those boxes only went so far before Tom and I were taking turns telling them their favorite fables and fairy tales with voices included.
We were finally pushed over the edge on our last long road trip to California in December. We knew we were in trouble when we had been driving about 15 minutes and Benjamin asked if Centerville,UT was in California. By the time we made it to St. George we had given in and purchased a portable DVD player from the local friendly WalMart. That saved us. For a few hours.
Our most recent vacation to St. George was the one where I learned a very important lesson. Ear plugs work. You see, I could still hear my children, just not at the decibel they are capable of raising their voices. We had remembered to bring the DVD player, but forget the DVDs so once again we were left to our own devices to survive. Sweet Jacob boy is in the screaming stage. He has this scream that can be heard from miles away. And he screams. A lot. I think the older two had the same ear piercing scream at one point in their lives but they have since outgrown it. I'm hoping Jacob will too.
So... as we were driving that last hour stretch on the way home and Jacob was screaming, Tom threatened to leave him on the side of the road. Now Jacob didn't understand what this meant but Benjamin certainly did. Horrified he yelled, "No Dad! Don't do it! I like Jacob!" We about wet ourselves with laughter.
I'm not sure how my parents handled so many road trips with us kids from California to Utah when I was little without electronics to keep us entertained. Except for the fact that we didn't have to sit strapped into car seats. And we were free to lay down and kick each other and get all of that crazy energy out. And when my Dad had enough of the fighting we had to put our noses against the windows until we had calmed down. Brilliant. But we don't have that luxury. Not until the kids are old enough to travel without sitting in car seats. And that won't be for awhile.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe everyone else has children who sit quietly and every once in awhile make polite requests for a drink or a snack. Children who don't ask every 5 minutes "how much longer until we get there?" Children who sleep for the majority of the trip. Maybe it's just me, but I feel a whole lot better pretending everyone else feels the same way I do.