Thank you! The link from the link that you sent me- the "Too fat to bicycle" post- was actually the one where I obtained most of the information I already have, lol- you are all a very experienced bunch!
I was hoping to find specific ideas for hybrids. While a recumbent bike sounds tempting, I would have a hard time transporting it, along with my husbands bike, to the trails we want to check out. I saw the suggestion for cyclocross bikes, so I looked at several, but they look so much like road bikes, in terms of (I don't know what the term is) bent-overness of the rider- i'm afraid it would be quite hard on my wrists- are some of them more upright?
I saw this time when I went back to the thread that one person says that Trek hybrids are supposed to support up to 300lbs, which should be fine for me. Is it enough to know that, and to know that Trek is a good company when I go to buy a bike? I'm assuming i'll probably want to get a wider seat for wider sit bones, but should I also consider changing the wheels to steel or stainless?

Sorry for the billions of questions- I appreciate any help you guys can offer!
Thanks,
wren