I would have considered last night's skies just ok in the spring, but last night I found them joyous indeed as I was finally able to get in a good session with the Televue 76 I bought a month ago. I was out just after midnight and the moon was still setting, but the contrast was sharp and crisp, and clusters like M38 and M35 just popped. Even M42 was impressive in that scope, both with and without filters.
Even used, this scope was a significant expenditure for me, but now I'm finally starting to see where that money went. I'm glad I went "big" on this one.