Post-race recovery and beyond?

Hello all,

Just did my first triathlon today--Olympic (though they had to shorten the bike at the last minute due to something about a semi taking out a couple telephone poles on the route). It went quite well for me, better than expected. The race came on the heels of a full taper, and I raced hard (as though it were an "A race," if that's possible for a newbie).

Now I'm wondering what's next. I'd like to get at least another race in this season, but scheduling (and money) will probably mean some time in late September.

Questions are these:

1) What's the best way to approach the first few days of post-race training? What should I do to recover? Do I get right back on a build schedule, or do I take a couple days (or even a full week?) to rejuvenate?

2) Let's say that between now and my next race, I've got two full months. Two weeks from now, however, I'll be out of town for two weeks (last two of Aug. i.e. weeks 3 and 4 of new training cycle.). While on traveling, running will be easy, swimming less so but not impossible, biking fairly unlikely. Now, when I return, I'll have another full month left to train for the hypothetical end-of-Sept. race. Any suggestions on how to approach this scenario?

Many thanks in advance to anyone who jumps in on this. I realize I've been quite active on the receiving end of this forum lately. I hope to be able to contribute with answers and advice of my own to others soon.

Greg