I'm not advising you as an expert, but as a fellow beginner. I recently started this thread:
Get started touring bike
I asked questions about touring bikes, got answers, bought a cheap bike off craigslist that not everyone would agree that it's ideal for touring, but then I went on a 165 mile tour over three days and learned more for myself from my own experience.
I also started this thread on upright riding position for touring:
How upright for touring?
You'll notice that my goals were to travel casually, not fast, and to travel light but still have minimalist camping gear to avoid hotel costs. I achieved all this, but that's not to say I wouldn't do some things differently. Check it out.