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Jeff,
What got me hooked on astronomy? When I was at school I worked Thursday nights and Saturday mornings at Kmart so that I could buy a scope. (it was the 70's) It was a 127mm reflector on an alt az mount. My first view of Saturn just blew me away. Of course, as I got older other matters took precedence and I did no astronomy but I was given a small refractor last Christmas and refound that excitement from my youth. The problem now though is that the amount of gear that is available is quite extraordinary.
So, I bought a second hand Bintel 10" dob from a guy that advertised it for sale on this website. Keep your eyes peeled as you never know what will come up for sale at a very reasonable price. I paid $600 but it came with a telrad finder, a laser collimater and a couple of eyepieces. The collimater is important if you are going to transport the scope as you will have to learn how to set the mirrors if they go out of alignment during transporting, and they do. There was everything that I needed to get me started. First off I started with easy objects like M42, the Orion Nebula, it was amazing in the 10" but there was so much more to see. That is why I bought the Argo Navis. The Argo is fabulous and I would not be without it. I want to upgrade to a 16" Meade Lightbridge and it will also have an Argo.
As far as eyepieces go, there were a couple with the scope. A 2" 30mm and a 1.25" 9mm both Bintel Plossls. Very useable for learning. These eye pieces are inexpensive and very good value.
In regards to transport, I have a small Holden Barina and I strap the box into the passenger seat and can fit the scope across the back seat, just. It has to sit on the arm rests on the doors. Remember that truss dobs take up less room when transporting.
I hope this helps,
Frank
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