That's pretty neat! We actually have a similar event scheduled for later in the semester. Crawfordsville is a pretty small town, so we are going to have a "Community night" where we send out info to local schools and invite kids to come out and bring their families to a certain location where we have our telescopes set up. We figure it's fairly likely that most kids around here have probably never gotten to look through a halfway decent telescope, and that it would be a good way to bring Wabash closer with other members of the community. We also have a trip to Butler planned sometime this semester. They have a 38 inch reflector telescope that should produce some pretty good images. I'm glad that you aren't disappointed in who I am anymore!
It's cool Indy. I like looking at the stars too. It's one of the reasons I love the Winter so much, with the air being so dry. I've got a 15-year old tripod telescope (can't remember the make or model), but with the best lense I can see Jupiter's bigger moons. First thing I looked at with it was the Hale-Bopp Comet. As a kid, I really liked looking at the Orion nebula. I thought it was so awesome that one point of light was actually multiple stars. It's been awhile since I busted that guy out, guess I'll have to unpack it now.
Not a whole lot of good stuff out right now, as far as I know, so you might save it for a few months. I know February and March last year had all kinds of great stuff. Jupiter should be up in the evening in a month or two. You can see Venus a little before sunrise right now, and Jupiter with moons as well, but most people don't like getting up that early. Also, stuff might be different in your location. If you do ever get your telescope out and want to know what all is visible from your area, leave a post in here with your general location (or pm it, if you prefer), and I will put it in my software and tell you what is available for viewing!
In regards to your pm, I'm not an astronomy buff. I know a few constellations and can pick out the planets, but that is about as far as it goes. It sounds like you are already aware of the importance of timing. If I were you, I would find some good astronomy websites like NASA or the Smithsonian, and keep an eye out for events that can be viewed. You already apparently have an astronomy software program to see where and when various things are coming up.
Uranus is actually up during this time of the year, but I don't believe my telescope is good enough to see it. He brought it up. I hope you enjoyed your hiatus. I know I did!
Saturn is in the sky these days. Usually doesn't come up until pretty late, but in a month or so it should be up at a reasonable hour. I got to check it out around 2-2:30am with our telescope. I could see the rings and I believe a moon or two. Jupiter is also still up at a decent hour during this time of the year, I believe.
Huge fan of meteor (meteorite?, I get so confused) showers. You can see mad activity @ Newfound Gap in late July, early August.