Any one here into telescopes? Wife wants to buy one for the house so the kids can use it. Kids are 7 and 4, we will also use it.

I don't want to spend a fortune but I also don't want to buy something that sucks.

 

Fry's has a decent selection. You can get one that auto tracks and stuff for relatively inexpensive. I have a Celestron something-or-other.

 

Sweet will check it out. There is a Fry's close to our house.

 

I have to qualify my suggestion. I haven't lived in the bay area in 7 or 8 years.

Fry's used to have a decent selection.

 

Celestron and Meade are both pretty decent for home setups. The larger diameter, the better - its all about light gathering. Don't worry so much about magnification.

My dad is madly into telescopes and has a PhD in astronomy. He has a 16" reflector in an observatory in his back yard. When you point it at Jupiter, it fills about 1/3 the field of view. You can see clouds and storms in the atmosphere. It is an amazing piece of gear.