As I drove up the winding road to Pacheco, I idly mused upon the socioeconomic impact of the human spirit as I contemplated the fleecy clouds, hoping they would clear. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 42 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 96. It would be easy to confuse with a spitting cobra.
After a short break to munch cheesy poofs, I tried for M 5 in Lepus. It was a blurry likeness of a faint puff of nothingness, with a suspected, but not confirmed, central star. Then, I looked for and suspected IC 2232. It reminded me of smoke signals from a rampaging Iroquois band. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I showed some guests Abell 67 in Virgo. It seemed fainter than Alan Rickman. With that checked off my list, I showed some guests Abell 50. It appeared at low power like whipped cream.
Finally, it was time to pack up and leave. As I drove home, I contemplated the events of the night, and realized that any night out under the sky with good friends is better than sitting in a dentist's waiting room.