The Atlantic Ocean is about eight miles due east of my backyard here in southern NJ.
I used to be able to to see a patch of one of the spiral arms of The Milky Way.
Haven’t noticed it lately though. Weird.
It should be up most of the night this time of year. What kind of light pollution do you have in your area? It’s enough in my area that I have to drive about 30 minutes out of town to get a good look at it.