I didn't know cats got pink-eye....

But they do.  Poor little Smoke.  One eye has been watering for a few days and she has been squinting with it.  We took her to a vet here in Vero Beach and learned that she has pink-eye.  Now I'm putting ointment in both of her eyes twice a day.  So far it's not a hassle, as she seems to feel bad; very lethargic and listless, sleeping in strange places and in strange positions.  She is very needy.

The vet put one little mist of a calming pheromone in the air when we entered the examining room.  It was amazing.  Smoke calmed down and was relatively relaxed for the entire visit, including rinsing her eyes and taking a little swab of one to check for the bacterial infection.  Afterwards, as we waited for the results, she simply jumped over to a chair, nested in my jacket, and lazed while we waited.  Good stuff!!!

It's been a busy few days.  We rented a car and drove to the Coast Guard's Homeland Security station about an hour south of here.  I needed to get my "free pass" back into the States updated, as my passport number has changed.

After that, we drove on to Ft.Lauderdale to spend the night with Ange and Ray.  It was a great visit; we always like to spend time with them.  I don't know why I didn't take any pictures as their house overlooks a lovely lake with tame ducks that come up to beg for food.  And I even took my camera!  oh, well.

Back from there to take Smoke to the vet and then back to Latitudes so Luke could once again climb the mast.  And he did --- this isn't a repeat picture, it's a new one!

I threw up from the top the only time I tried climbing the mast, and that was in Luke's smaller sailboat.  SO, I'm exempt from this little chore!

Let me clarify that Luke doesn't exactly shimmy  up the mast when I say he "climbs" the mast.  Oh, no, it's a lot more complicated (and safe) than that.  We rig up a series of safety ropes and he has a bosun's chair to sit in.  I, the Boat Wench, use the Electric Winch to hoist him safely up and down the 59 foot mast.
The wind direction instrument is now replaced and working well.  Luke took pictures from the top.  He says this is the worst way to see the mooring field  LOL!  But it's a great view.

Our plan is to leave Vero tomorrow morning early and do an overnight run to Miami. This will stage us for a hop over to Bimini when the weather is right, probably on Wednesday. The weather is supposed to be calm and mild.  But, his is a sailboat and there are no guarantees.  I'll post when we leave.