I got a second crack at observing on Friday, and after waiting out fireworks, a cloudy patch, and search lights (!?!), had 3 hours of good observing with decent seeing (7/10) from 11:15-2am.
Objects: M5 (wonderful), M53 (faint), revist of M57, a first time visit to planetaries NGC 6826/Caldwell 15 (Cygnus(a must see...It really does "blink" at low powers), and NGC 6572 (oph--intense green/blue coloration), and views of the rather underwhelming clusters Stephenson I, NGC 6709 (Aquila), and NGC 6633 (oph).
The night ended on a high note with a view of M11, the Wild Duck cluster, which offered a fine view at 190x.
I'm getting into the planetary hunting/obseving, which is a good thing with my rather limited observing options. The list is proving its worth and making my observing sessions more efficient and enjoyable (the cursing ratio has gone down significantly).
If I can get 5-6 more session like the last two in before October, I will be happy. For now--6 days of rain! I'm glad I made the effort...
Reading another post by Jeff- I guess I also was a witness to a meteor from the Bootids shower while looking at M5. An added bonus....