Harold
As others have stated, I think we all have started and stopped different hobbies, and lets face it, for most of us this is just a hobby. I'm in my mid 50's and just started a few years ago after a lifetime of looking up and wondering but never doing anything about it. I finally bought a very good small APO and quickly developed aperture (equipment) fever. I have rotated a fair amount of astronomy stuff thru Amart then a few months ago figured out my equipment outpaced my actual knowledge of the sky. I guess where I'm going with this is that I bought all the stuff and it turned out to be a pain to set up so I spent even less time learning and enjoying. I've settled on a good wide field APO and an excellent mid size truss DOB which works for me. Maybe for you it's time to just get back to basics with something that's quick to set up for a quick look at whatever is going on up there that night and enjoy it, then put it away without all the work of a large complicated setup. Hobbies are meant to be enjoyed and if they are not then we are approaching them incorrectly or we have gotten everything out of them we can and its time to move on. However, I think many of us can still remain in a hobby but not in the avid category, but rather the casual category. I still continue other interest even though I'm not deep into it anymore, but just casually only when something comes up to bring up the interest level again if only for short time. I still have a motorcycle but I don't ride nearly as much as I used to. I still have a number of firearms but I don't hunt and shoot nearly as much as I used to. I still have a pilots license but I don't fly much anymore. I still love to camp but I don't backpack anymore. But I still enjoy them all.
I wish you luck and I'm sure you be comfortable with your decision.
Buck
As others have stated, I think we all have started and stopped different hobbies, and lets face it, for most of us this is just a hobby. I'm in my mid 50's and just started a few years ago after a lifetime of looking up and wondering but never doing anything about it. I finally bought a very good small APO and quickly developed aperture (equipment) fever. I have rotated a fair amount of astronomy stuff thru Amart then a few months ago figured out my equipment outpaced my actual knowledge of the sky. I guess where I'm going with this is that I bought all the stuff and it turned out to be a pain to set up so I spent even less time learning and enjoying. I've settled on a good wide field APO and an excellent mid size truss DOB which works for me. Maybe for you it's time to just get back to basics with something that's quick to set up for a quick look at whatever is going on up there that night and enjoy it, then put it away without all the work of a large complicated setup. Hobbies are meant to be enjoyed and if they are not then we are approaching them incorrectly or we have gotten everything out of them we can and its time to move on. However, I think many of us can still remain in a hobby but not in the avid category, but rather the casual category. I still continue other interest even though I'm not deep into it anymore, but just casually only when something comes up to bring up the interest level again if only for short time. I still have a motorcycle but I don't ride nearly as much as I used to. I still have a number of firearms but I don't hunt and shoot nearly as much as I used to. I still have a pilots license but I don't fly much anymore. I still love to camp but I don't backpack anymore. But I still enjoy them all.
I wish you luck and I'm sure you be comfortable with your decision.
Buck
