Listen, the very LAST thing you wanna fall down with when you’re forced to make a not-so-triumphant return to the Sunshine State is DEBILITATING ILLNESS. I’d MUCH rather collapse from too many rummy cocktails. But that’s just what happened to me by Day 3 of the Key West portion of our trip to Florida a week and a half ago. I woke up that Friday morning, fearful that I couldn’t, like, BREATHE…and the next thing you know, I was being hooked up to a Nebulizer at the Urgent Care facility on N. Roosevelt Blvd.!
Is THIS what I need???
As it turns out, no one knew what the hell was wrong with me. First I was told I having a heart attack, then it was a Pulmonary embolism, then it was asthma, then it was an allergy attack. Allergies to “new pollen” I had not yet been introduced to. So after a chest X-ray and some drawn blood, I was told I’m an ox and just needed an inhaler and some steroid pills. Well, sure enough, I was horrendously sick the ENTIRE rest of the trip. And I was doing ALL the driving, too. I also had to be a major support system for the wife, as we were driving up to Central Florida next to visit her parents, my in-laws.
Oh, you wouldn’t BELIEVE how hard I rallied for the woman I share a life with. She was disappointed, sure. Only because she actually cares about my health and was worried I wasn’t having any fun. But it wasn’t about me at that point. This was about endurance, survival, and SALVATION. So I spent the majority of the trip stifling my physical miseries and rising to the occasion. When we got back to L.A., my wife praised me for being such badass about the whole thing. “I mean, you REALLY stood up, Koch! Like a REAL man would! I was so impressed.”
Whoa! What? REAL man?? Really??? Now THAT’S something I’ve been needing to hear for the past coupla years!!! Validation, validation, valiDATION!
Anyway, more about Florida and in-laws later. I just wanted to quickly tell you about Schnebly Redland’s Winery. This place was extra special and we managed to hit it on our way down to Key West.
Here. You gotta check out our visit to Schnebly in Part ONE of the newly-posted “Max Koch Goes to Florida” video. Oh, and wait’ll you see the big ol’ brown iguana they got runnin’ around down there. Click the pic of the winery’s fountain here and GO:
As it turns out, I went and saw a doctor again once I got back into town and was told I’m suffering a pretty bad bout of bronchitis. So now I’ve just been hiding out, reading, being creative, and watching movies. But it’s a DRAG, man. I am RUN DOWN. Plus I’ve had to bail on all these amazing social engagements I’d placed on the calendar. But I suppose it’s better than dropping dead in Florida, where I would’ve KILL MYSELF if I’d died there. (What?)
Hey, whaddo ya know. It’s movin’ n’ shakin’ over here as I’ve just now uploaded Part TWO of “Max Koch Goes to Florida”, which predominantly takes place in Key West. So click the pic here of the wife at I at the very southernmost Southernmost point of the USA and go look at that one, too:
WINE PAIRING: Most definitely give the Schnebly Sparkling Passion a splash. We bought a couple bottles with us down to Key West when we stayed at the Parrot Key Hotel & Resort and they most perfectly punctuated our sunsets.
And special thanks to Ernesto and George at Schnebly for being so cool to us and letting us film!