Traveling in a declining pandemic is a challenge.

And it’s not very normal.

In March, I flew to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to meet my daughter and two only grandchildren. They met me at the airport and then we took two days to drive to Tulsa. They were here for a visit and to attend the memorial for my late brother Bill Biggs.

My pandemic problems began in the Tulsa Airport. For some reason, I always get patted down by airport security and they never find any contraband. Ever. That’s after I take off my coat, belt shoes and empty my wallets.

I asked them why they had to pat me down and I never get a reason.

My flight on was on American Airlines at 8 a.m. I had a connection in DFW (Dallas) at 10:30 a.m. and was supposed to arrive at Sioux Falls at 12:30. It was a good schedule.

I decided to buy a bottle of water in the Tulsa Airport because they don’t serve anything on flights these days unless you have a first-class tickets.

A 20-ounce bottle of plain water cost $4.

Four bucks!

You can’t bring a bottle of water through security unless you have young children. I can buy a case of the same water – 40 – bottles for $4 at Sam’s Club. And I bought the same bottle of water in DFW for $3.03.

What a ripoff.

And almost all of the restaurants and stores were closed at the Tulsa Airport on a Saturday morning, so there weren’t any options.

Anyway, my flight was one hour late due to weather problems in Dallas. I got to Dallas and rushed to my gate only to find that my next flight was delayed. The delay was just long enough for me to buy some water and a candy bar at the mini-store near my gate. The nearest fast food restaurant was a 10-minute walk away.

I will say that DFW is very efficient in getting passengers to their gates in a very big international airport.

My flight was about 45 minutes late landing in Sioux Falls and my daughter had not arrived yet. I don’t carry a cell phone and I couldn’t find a pay phone anywhere in the airport. I went into a gift shop and the clerk let me use her phone. That was nice.

We had lunch in Sioux Falls, the biggest city in the state, and I was surprised at how busy the drive-through restaurants were.

We drove south through Iowa and into Missouri headed toward Kansas City, Missouri. I had a hotel reservation at the Wyndham Ramada in Platte City, a suburb of Kansas City.

That was a big mistake.

We got to the hotel and I checked in. I asked we would get the “hot breakfast” that was promised on their website and the clerk said, “Oh, we don’t do that anymore.”

I asked if they had a to-go breakfast bag, like many hotels do now. “Oh, we don’t do that anymore,’ the clerk said.

We were tired and went to our room. We used our key to enter a nearby exterior door next to our room. The room was supposed to have two queen beds and a foldout couch but it had two full-size beds. There was no shampoo so I went to the clerk and he gave me some. He said they don’t put shampoo in the bathrooms anymore. I requested a crib for my 1-year-old grandson and they didn’t have one.

We opened up the sofa bed and the mattress was dirty and they was an old T-shirt inside.

That was the last straw.

We left that hotel and drove to nearby Leavenworth, Kansas, where we got the last available room at Hampton Inns and Suites. It only cost about $20 more that the Ramada Inn but it was 100 times better. They had a beautiful foldup crib. The room was immaculate, compete with shampoo and conditioner.

And they had a hot breakfast with omelets, bacon, yogurt, muffins, and all kinds of good stuff. The staff was so friendly and helpful.

So, Lord willing, I will never stay in another Ramada Inn and I am sold on Hampton Inns.

We decided not to take the Interstate and come back on Highway 169 through Kansas because my daughter’s GPS told up it was quicker. It wasn’t because there were several detours that thoroughly confused her GPS.

Twice it sent us down dirt roads with dead ends (one ended at a rock quarry).

The other problem with that route is that it is tough to find places to eat, especially with a 1-year-old and a 2-year old. That highway comes close to towns but not through many towns.

We made it home safely. My son-in-law flew in from Sioux Falls the day after Easter and he and his young family will drive back to their home in Mitchell.

Something tells me they will not stop at the Tulsa Airport to buy water, they will stick to the Interstate and not stay in a Ramada Inn in Platte City.