Yeah Casey, I am in the same boat as you are about flying when no one is around. The last time I flew, or the time i totaled it, ther was a few people around who were smiling when I crashed it. I guess they didnt knwo how much these things cost, otherwise they would have been open-mouthed with shock like I was.
But when the wind calms down and people are not around, which is very rare, I can bring my plane up. The place that I fly is kind of like yours. It is behind a school that has a large parking lot and two nearby baseball fields. The lightposts can be a problem sometimes, but I somehow avoid them.
I have learned a few things out of this experience, however. One is that I will always come onto this forum before I buy anything r/c related. The second is that I will never buy from Hobbico again unless The come out with an outstanding flier that everyone praises and that I have flown before. The final is that I will spend a lot more time checking and double checking the plane I want before I buy it. R/C costs too much to just throw money at crappy products. I guess that is what Hobbico doesn't understand. You make a good plane and the customer comes back to you for another. You make a crappy one like the AERO CRUISER, then the customer will have no other choice but to go to a better R/C aircraft manufacturer like Great Planes.

Damn I hope someone at Hobbico reads this. This forum cant even begin to describe my frustration.