Thanks for the input, guys.
I'm pretty certain that I'll purchase the SLR. One reason being that, if I really get into the hobby, it will save me expense in the future from having to upgrade from the p&s to the SLR. And these days, the price difference from the entry SLRs and the high feature p&s's really arent all that different.
The Sony a200 seems to be frequently favorably reviewed and is reasonably priced.