Squash the touring talk for now. OP has stated he would like to do some travelling with the bike, not necessarily go touring with it. Also, touring covers a lot of different territory- we talking Credit Card, supported, or self contained? The LHT is going to be overkill for the commute and CC tours (this is assuming the OP can handle drop bars); a mtb w/ some less aggressive, but still dirt capable, tread or a dual sport should work for now.

Ultimately, it's the OP's decision. Given his uncertainity about a bunch of stuff, he really should be shopping for/at the LBS and doing test rides. We could make suggestions until the end of time, but in the end it doesn't really matter. How many times as something looked really sweet in a 2D representation on a computer screen- only to find out there's something revealed by the test ride that makes you stop and go "I ain't so sure this is the one afterall..."?