We were staying at a Marriott Courtyard - this brand in the Marriott line doesn't usually offer a free breakfast. They do stock a very few pre-prepared synthetic breakfast items they will pull out of a freezer and cook for you for a high price, if you can find and convince an employee to do that for you. So, we chose to eat at a nearby IHOP. It was interesting, if you read the listings carefully, because the usual-looking IHOP breakfast menu had California-ized items, with avocado in almost every item, and a little overall healthy version of the items, fruit instead of hash browns, more items with egg whites, etc. The IHOP was right off I-10, so we jumped directly onto the highway to run up to the Marine base at 29 Palms. We had arranged with Navy Federal Credit Union to get a cashier's check for this purchase. [Essentially the bank takes the money out of your account, puts it in their own account, and writes their own check against their own account.] It was much quicker than a wire transfer, and by holding onto the cashier's check physically we could control the money right up until the seller was signing the bill of sale. With a wire, once the die was cast, there would not have been much we could done if we hit a snag with the seller. It was very weird to see a "Navy" institution in the middle of the desert, 150 miles from the nearest body of water.
We didn't hydrate very well during the trip through the desert and the temperature was surreal - above 110 - and we were feeling a little spacey. So this was a bad time to call the Virginia DMV with a question about the seller's paperwork (he had given us copies at dinner Sunday night.) The VA DMV opinion about the situation was very, very bad - they were screaming at me over the phone they were so upset. So when we got back to the seller's compound, we were in frame of mind to do any work on the coach, or really engage with the seller in any way - just totally disgusted with the whole enterprise - with ourselves for putting so much time, effort and energy into this whole thing. We told the seller we had the check in hand, though we weren't going to proceed unless he took the actions to straighten out the paperwork. We left immediately and sought refuge in our hotel room.
A few hours later, the seller called us with a proposition for straightening out the paperwork problem. It was going to be super-painful, though not too costly, for him (and no cost or effort for us.)
We had to admit this sounded like a good way ahead, and we agreed to smooth things over by meeting Kathy and him at the Indian Wells Country Club, which welcomes non-members to their facilities. So later that evening we joined them at the clubhouse for light drinks and dinner. We sat on the balcony over the course, ringed by mountains glowing purple in the setting sun, and a light breeze washing through the valley and cooling the balcony. A few of their local friends joined us, and we all had a nice time.
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