After a bunch of research, this is what I am doing for my little bit of coin:
Go to
https://www.bitaddress.org/ and create a BIP38-encrypted wallet - then you don't have to worry so much about hiding the wallet. Just don't forget/lose your password!
Creating and loading the wallet -
1) Save to my HD the bitaddress.org URL for generating BIP-38 encrypted paper wallets.
2) Create a LINUX LiveCD for booting from a flash drive for a fresh, offline OS.
3) Disconnect computer from the internet, boot into LiveCD, and generate my encrypted paper wallet via the bitaddress.ord URL (running standalone). You can print a bunch of different wallets off at once onto a sheet or two of paper. Then you can have all your coins in the first one, and when you spend some you move the "change" to the next one down the list.
4) Save the wallet off as a PDF and also print multiple copies. Since it's encrypted, I can have a few copies and keep them multiple places and the PDF will also be available if the paper fades or is destroyed.
5) Reboot regular OS and head out to the exchange.
7) Send my bitcoin to the public key of my paper wallet, starting with a small amount and confirming it got there via blockchain.info.
Getting bitcoin back out of the wallet -
1) Using the block chain app on my android tablet, scan the encrypted private key of the paper wallet (I could also use the bitaddress.org code offline to decrypt it manually also).
2) The app will ask for the key I used to BIP-38 encrypt the private key - type in the password used to encrypt it and the wallet's bitcoin will be accessable.
3) Sweep the wallet into my blockchain online wallet.
4) Send any bitcoin that I don't want to keep online into the next wallet in the list.
This is really easy, foolproof as long as you use a password you will never lose/forget, and it doesn't depend at all on USB sticks or other tech to store the wallet. And you can give copies to friends/family without worry since it is useless without a password. Just make sure your password is fairly sizable so brute force can't crack it.