On my iPad 1 I have upgraded to iOS5 and really like it but after I upgraded Safari just closes on it's own. Maybe 2 or 3 times each night as I'm surfing around. Never did this before, any suggestions?

Sorry to hear about your dilemma. Is this happening on all websites or just specific ones? Some websites are not optimized and do not play well with mobile devices. Other browsers such as iCab may handle some websites better than Safari.

I'm assuming you've stopped the application by pressing the home button twice to bring up open apps, holding the app icon until it jiggles and touching the circled "minus sign" in the upper left-hand corner of the icon to shut it down...then restarted it? If too many applications are open it can affect the performance of other applications as well.

If that doesn't do it, simply restarting the iPad can fix most issues. Hold down the power switch (outside edge) by itself until the red slider appears. Turn it off by sliding the switch and then once again hold down the power switch until the Apple logo appears.

Resetting the iPad should be reserved for a non-responsive unit as it addresses other activity but if restarting doesn't do it, resetting it might. Press and hold the power button and the home button together for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

More here:

iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Turning off and on (restarting) and resetting

Let us know if that helps. Others may have some more suggestions as well.

BTW, I'll move this to the iPad Help area (with a forward from the original forum) where it's likely to get better responses.