Congratulations and well done. You are right, there is much to see if you take the time to look and are not put off by light pollution or a smallish telescope. I used to observe just 20 minutes walk from Auckland City using a 20cm mirror.
Next door was a Pacific Island church lit up like a christmas tree most nights and down the back a floodlight from the neighbours. I would drap a sheet over the clothes line and observe from within its confines. I could easily reach stars of 11 mag. and even see M20 the Trifid Nebula.
Perserverance, technique and a great imagination
are all that is needed in times of poor observing conditions.
By the way, the same location would not allow me to see Centaurus A directly at first. The dark lane used to show up against the background sky then after a couple of minutes, the galaxy would slowly brighten.
Cheers
Rich
