Hi Steve,
Good to hear. It's never boring to read about this, far from it.
I recall my first sighting of M57, so gratifying, and I could not resist posting about that.
I shared your experience last night with the clear skies, and spent a lot of time on the Ghost of Jupiter, rated one of the best planetary nebulae around
http://www.astropix.com/HTML/L_STORY...T/PLANETAR.HTM
I was very bothered by light pollution, but at least up at the zenith it was a little darker.
Cheers