Hi Travis, welcome to the deep, deep south. Not to put you off coming here, please do, but the equivalent web site for the northern hemisphere is
Cloudynights
Worth registering there as you will get more specific help for your parrticular views and hardware and you will find a lot of the IIS people are also members there as well. It's a very friendly bunch of people and many events and findings are collaborative between various people and groups around the world to confirm or add information to new discoveries.
Get Stellarium, get the scope out, ask for help and it will be forthcoming from everyone. Good luck with your journey, welcome to the madhouse.
P.S I'd also suggest hooking up with a local astronomy group if you can to get some first hand experience and assistance.
P.P.S. I'd also not touch the alcohol when you drag the scope out ....save it for the cloudy nights ....
Cheers
Brent