Jeff, my MAN! You have to be so close to your Messier certificate! Let me know when you complete that task. It is considered a rite of passage among amateur astronomers.
Stuppo and I got out last night and Frenchy (David Coset) joined us for Moonrise. Steve and I observed Jupiter and Saturn, (his lovely little wife Lizzy joined us for that) and then got on the hunt for Leo's triplet. Since I have seen this so often, Steve wouldn't let me help him find it, (those darn stubborn Norwegians) so I showed David some of the Obvious Stuff (M 13 and Epsilon Lyrae) and tried to pick up a few more phrases in Francois. What a hoot!
Then our lovely planetary neighbor rose dramatically from the east. The Moon was absolutely beautiful. It was like seeing Miss America walk into the room, all eyes were locked on it and all we could do was wonder at its splendor. It didn't hurt that we had the Moonlight Sonata on classical radio at the time. It was cosmic.
AGNFA!