About to be a first time pool owner.

Hello, I am about to close on a house in a couple of weeks and will be a first time pool owner. I am not sure at this time as to the size of the pool but would guess between 30-35k gal. It is currently a chlorine pool but am thinking about converting it to a salt water chlorine generator pool in a couple of months mostly due to having to travel a lot for work. I am going to order the test kit described here and will post the results once I am moved in and have the opportunity. Until then, I was wondering:

1) If I needed to procure anything in addition to the test kit.

2) What I needed to do to winterize a pool in San Antonio, TX.

3) If anyone could provide info in regard to a good SWCG system. Specifically ease of use, reliability and chlorine out put. Obviously lower price is better, but I would rather pay more for a more reliable system with a consistent track record amongst users.

I will post more info as to size, setup and test results once I am moved in. Just wanted to say hello and try to get a jump start. Thanks for any advise in advance!

JPO

So I just conducted my first test, here are my results:

Water temp 45 degrees F
Free chlor - 16.5ppm (I used the 10ml fill line and it took 33 drops at 0.5 to turn the sample clear).
Combined Chlor - 1 ppm
7.7 Ph
130 ppm total alk
130 ppm calcium hardness
I wasn't sure how to read the cyan acid test. The tube was filed to just over the 1.8ml line but was way below the last value.

It seems like the free chlorine is high to me but am not sure. Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance!