haloflightleader: I'll guess that it won't take you long to run out of things to look through with your telescope unless you become involved in an organized program. I will recommend an excellente one in which I have had many years of experience: The program of variable star observing administered by the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), located at Harvard College Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The AAVSO supplies charts for each star at or very close to cost, stores data suuplied by members, and makes the data available to professional astronomers. I have described observing procedures in my 22 April 2008 contribution to "variable star observing - episode 66" in the Astronomy Cast forum.

For variable star observing, I would recommend an 8-inch reflector on an equatorial mounting. You'll want to devise a way to attach an AAVSO chart to a viewing position close to the eyepiece and to devise means for looking at the chart with a light that will not degrade your night vision.