Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement! Bob, I found this group by simply searching for a sailplane forum (which there don't seem to be too many out there, surprisingly...)

Bermuda High has several 2-33's and that's probably what I'll be learning in, until I solo and can fly some of the single seaters. They do have a duo discus as well which I'd love to learn to fly, but I don't mind flying the bigger slower trainers to start.

I would definitely love to have my own sailplane someday. I've heard a lot about the 1-26, and I believe Bermuda High has at least one of those as well. That's one thing that has really drawn me to gliding - it's a lot more accessible (financially) than just about any other type of aviation - and it will build nicely for my power ratings, etc in the future.

I went ahead and downloaded condor - already had a logitech 3d joystick. I've put in several hours on it already - what a great sim. Being able to spend a good deal of time practicing being on tow, flying the pattern, and even finding thermals has been a lot of fun, and I'm sure will help when it comes time for the real thing.

I have also learned about the fluidity of scheduling already - the first day I went to check out the field they had cancelled everything because of a very bad weather forecast - it turned out to be beautiful. The next weekend the forecast looked good and I was supposed to have my first lesson, but I woke up to dense fog that really never lifted. Still had a good day at the field though - helped install a tow hook on a Cessna 185 they recently acquired. Bermuda High is actually hosting the 18m nationals this year (in May), so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what that is all about!

Thanks again and I'm sure I'll be a frequent visitor with more questions!