Suspension on the road: Not necessarily a bad thing. You do lose some energy when climbing with suspension, and on road bikes you usually don't want suspension for the weight reason also. But, considering the all around usage of your bike, suspension is a good choice for you. Ask the shop to show you how the adjustments work and to explain what they are for. You can have them set the fork up "stiff" for your on road adventures and then make it more responsive for the times when you head off road. It's a 2 minute operation which involves turning 2 or 3 knobs (depending on the model).

Good luck. The snow should be here shortly and then I'm hitting the trails in it. Nothing quite like a snow ride.