A few of us have the Baofeng UV5R-A. We typically communicate over the MURS frequencies (no license needed), or monitor some of the repeaters in the area. Also, I've used mine down at KOH to listen in on the race coverage.
The radios are inexpensive, and work pretty well for what they are. Great battery life, pretty easy to use, but you get what you pay for. I had the speaker go out on one of mine within the first month. Rather than deal with a Chinese warranty claim, I just picked up another radio and an external speaker for the other one.
I'd also like to get my license one of these days. I studied the practice exam years ago, but never made it in to test.