What to do in Vegas at night when you're a Mormon

People are often surprised when they find I enjoy Las Vegas.  Because for most people Vegas is all about drinking and gambling and being hedonistic.  Which is not what I do at all.  What I do like about Vegas is that I can see a variety of shows, eat some amazing food and see some fantastic art for free.  I try to avoid walking down the actual strip because there is where you get the fliers for the barely-clad escorts.  It's a fun place, even for people that don't participate in the more hedonistic aspects of it.  

The first night in Vegas I was on my own and was trying to decide between seeing La Reve at the Wynn or Ka at MGM.  Being the huge fan of O at the Bellagio that I am I really just wanted to see O again.  But I decided to go with a new show and the other water show.  I should have seen Ka.  La Reve was a gorgeous set and beautifully staged.  The venue is very intimate.  The show, however, was not fantastic.  It seemed that every scene was about sex.  It was a bit much.  O is better.

Penn & Teller - I was a bit nervous about seeing them.  We all know I'm a bit of a prude.  I was concerned that I would be a bit uncomfortable.  Especially considering how uncomfortable I ended up being the night before at La Reve.  However, I had absolutely no reason to be concerned.  The Penn & Teller show is something I would highly recommend to ANYONE going to Las Vegas.  It was hilarious and surprising and just a joy!

Penn Jillete played the bass during the pre-show entertainment.  I'm now a fan of Penn & Teller and have been reading articles they write about magic, watching Penn on Celebrity Apprentice...they are just fun and seem to be very good people.

The next night we went on a night lights tour of Las Vegas.  I do NOT recommend this tour unless you've never been to Vegas and are there without a car.  They basically pick you up at your hotel (ours was Circus Circus). 

They drive you to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, then to see a light show at the Bellagio.

I took way too many photos of the fountains, as always. We then went to the Mirage to watch the volcano explode.

Then they take you downtown to the Fremont Experience which is better than what I've seen in years past.  Every hour they actually play a music video followed by advertisements.  In the past it's just been advertisements.  We ended up going to the Golden Nugget for some dessert.  I love the Golden Nugget.  It feels like what I think old Vegas must have felt like.  They have started installing some old neon downtown and will have a neon museum there in the near future.  

These are all things I've done several times on my own.  It wasn't worth the price for me.  But again, if you're going to Vegas for the first time without a car and these are all things you'd like to see, you can probably do it cheaper on your own and the bus.

Also recommended that you avoid:  The Masquerade show at Rio.  Now that took the implied sexuality from La Reve and just threw it in your face.  I was EXTREMELY uncomfortable during that whole 15 minute segment of our trip.  AND it was my idea to go!  I'd heard great things about it but it turns out that recently they've changed the show to something that is not prude-friendly (nor kid-friendly).