David,

>Has anyone been to any .Net oriented conferences? If so, which ones, and how were they.

In addition to the other recommendations, I recommend checking out DevTeach (www.devteach.com) which has .NET, SQL Server, and VFP tracks. They're inexpensive, and they have a good mix of speakers. They haven't announced dates for next year yet, but it looks like they will!

Regards,