Pete,
congrats on the 'scope n i think you will find it the right one; i know i sure did! great visual bang for buck n as u have said, portable. however . . . . beware aperture fever
i view the moon through the 50mm removable cap opening on the dust cover, it cuts down the brightness to what is for me a more comfortable level.
i am lookin to soonish upgrade my locating probably to skyEye n a tablet. so far and atm i am having lotsa fun juz using cheap n available online or magazines' sky charts along with skymap free on the iphone and some times stellarium on the laptop. i live in the bush so permanent dark sky site which i think makes it easier because i can see so much more naked eye. i find i can usually hop to the area then scan with finder 'scope then 25mm plossl. for the comets Comet Catcher put me onto
http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/
after a while its a lot like using a street directory in an area ur familiar with - a check of the target's position against some familiar land marks, put the map away and go. tho some times mental gymnastics to get up n down left n right correct
i am impressed by nebulae, so early on got the filters.
i got the 8", plossls n barlow via the Mackay star gazers site, every thing else so far from IIS classifieds.
enjoy, regards Lindon