Nice going Gary. I just passed 2500 miles recently as well (1700 on the road bike, 800 on the hybrid) over about 15 months. I can see, though, that I am far behind on Bike Forum posts
BTW, I also last did organized sports in high school, including one I was pretty good at. But I haven't seen too many recreational water pool leagues.
As far as the bike goes, how about a nice Reynolds 853 steel frame? Looks nicer than those oversized aluminum frames. I guess carbon fiber would be okay as well.
Nick