# Have you ever been underwhelmed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764 "2024-11-25T16:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/141 "2024-11-27T03:31:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Fenway Park is a dump. Agreed. I’ve been to 3 games in Fenway. The first, my view of home plate was obstructed by a support beam. The second, I sat down the right field line and my seat faced center field, so I had to twist my head to see the action. The third time was better, although I was a row from the top. The concourses are incredibly narrow, which makes it tough to get to the restrooms and concessions. But I can say that I’ve been there. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/142 "2024-11-27T03:34:30Z")
I agree that if you happen to be driving past those locations (Meteor Crater and Four Corners and Petrified Forest) then you probably should stop and check them out once (you will probably never do it a second time though unless you are with someone who has not seen them). They are NOT worth a special trip (mainly because they really are far from anywhere and once you arrive there is almost nothing to do). Grand Canyon is wonderful though. Definitely worth a special effort to go see it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/143 "2024-11-27T03:50:16Z")
I totally forgot about the Petrified Forest. I went there too, and was glad I did. My roommate (this was when I was doing clinicals on the Indian reservation) went to Canyon de Chelly, but I could tell even with the information we had at the time that it was very remote, and had no desire to go myself. She was a big hiking aficionado, and loved it. There was an unwritten rule on The Rez that if something was cool or interesting, you’re not supposed to photograph it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/144 "2024-11-27T04:02:06Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Saying this as a Texan: the Alamo is the most underwhelming historic site I’ve ever visited. Then you must not have seen the basement. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/145 "2024-11-27T04:16:09Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > (Meteor Crater and Four Corners and Petrified Forest) then you probably should stop and check them out once (you will probably never do it a second time though unless you are with someone who has not seen them) Once for the Meteor Crater and Four Corners, I agree. But I’ve genuinely been to the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert multiple times. I really like those. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > went to Canyon de Chelly, but I could tell even with the information we had at the time that it was very remote, It is a bit, but very neat. It’s a bit like a smaller Grand Canyon combined with a smaller Mesa Verde (both awesome places that are also very cool as a combo). I’d genuinely like to go again, but it does require you pay for a guided tour if you want to actually enter the canyon floor. But driving/hiking around the rim is totally free. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/146 "2024-11-27T05:00:21Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Meteor Crater and Four Corners Well, Meteor Crater is only about a 10 minute drive from I-40, if you happen to be driving that highway. Four Corners, on the other hand, is over 2 hours from Gallup, NM. It is a half-day trip to get there and then back to the interstate. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/147 "2024-11-27T05:44:16Z")
Stone Mountain Georgia, not just for the obvious reason of the big carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. I’m more off-put by the Confederate Soldiers’ Memorial at the base. The myth of the barefoot youth sacrificed defending their homes. [![](https://www.hmdb.org/Photos3/323/Photo323833o.jpg?8212015110600AM) ](https://www.hmdb.org/Photos3/323/Photo323833o.jpg?8212015110600AM) But, on the trail to the top of the rock, one feature always impresses: the gum pole: [![](https://mapio.net/images-p/15389492.jpg) ](https://mapio.net/images-p/15389492.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/148 "2024-11-27T06:04:43Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Grand Canyon is wonderful though. Definitely worth a special effort to go see it. That reminds me: I had heard multiple people gushing about how amazing Antelope Canyon is (in Page, AZ), even better than the Grand Canyon. We booked a tour which consisted of walking through the canyon for about 15 minutes. It was moderately interesting to look at, but it was hardly the mind-blowing experience that some people had touted. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/149 "2024-11-27T09:24:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > A friend of mine & his business pal recently went _business class_, not first class, trans-Atlantic on Emirates. Even if you fly economy on Emirates or Qatar, you get all the drinks you can want (no wine list, though), and the food is good too. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/150 "2024-11-27T13:00:03Z")
Can I humbly suggest visitors only go to a place once and then they might not be so disappointed? Otherwise the novelty wears off too quickly for sure. My neighbor for instance was giving a ride to his international colleagues from the airport last December. He apologized for the horrible traffic in LA. The three colleagues began marveling how the shimmering brake lights reminded them of the red Christmas lights in Guatemala. Probably hardly anyone else in that jam thought in that way. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/151 "2024-11-27T13:02:24Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I know, I know… uncultured heathen and all that. Maybe it’s genetic? Maybe I’m just broken. Nah. I’m the same way. But it’s with seafood. Anything. Lobster, crab, fish, whatever. All tastes disgusting to me. It sucks because I seem to be missing out on a lot. But I hate seafood. My Wife and I are spoiled beef wise. We only eat beef from the Scanga Meat company. It comes from Salida CO. There is also a little Mom and Pop store that is closer to us that sells it. We get Filets. We served this to guests and have been told that it’s the best steak they have ever had. I completely agree. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/152 "2024-11-27T13:17:56Z")
About 20 years ago I got an engagement in Mallorca to work for a German car company that wanted to present to the press a very fast and expensive new model. After the usual car talk in the presentations by several executives (the torque! the acceleration! so many valves! for each cilinder! and so on and so forth…) the journalists were offered a drive around a racing track in this fantastic new model, driven by the rally legend [Walter Röhrl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_R%C3%B6hrl). So each of them got a helmet, took the seat at the co-pilot’s place and was driven around in a loop with many curves, tires screeching and smoking. I just stood there in case anyone needed me, and then they were through. Then someone asked me whether I would like a ride too, and I said yes. Was a bit disappointed I was not supposed to drive the marvel myself, but then I was told who the pilot was and I understood that they feared people like me could damage the car, they prefered a professional to drive. OK then, go ahead. And he drove just fine, quite fast indeed, with a lot of lateral forces in the curves, sliding around the curves at wild angles, and plenty acceleration, both positive and negative, when breaking. It was mighty loud too. But frankly: that was the big deal? Journalists are an easy to impress bunch, I thought. Oh, and the part of Mallorca where they housed me in was very meh too. I know there are better quarters but I never went back. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/153 "2024-11-27T14:08:08Z")
You either have nerves of steel or Röhrl must have had a very relaxed day. I’m old enough to have followed the rally scene in his heydays and know his legendary reputation as a wizard on wheels, the greatest rally driver and one of the best race drivers in general of all time. A few years ago I read an account of a legendary mountain stage of the Rally Monte Carlo on snow and ice, in darkness and fog, that he won in a landslide because he had memorized literally every turn and every stone of the course and drove it, of course with the help of his congenial co-driver Christian Geistdörfer, practically blind. So he knows how to take risks, but OTOH I don’t remember that he ever had a serious crash in his career. ETA: fun fact from wiki I just learned: one of his first jobs was chauffeur for the diocese of Regensburg. I bet the priests had fun on the road. 😅 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/154 "2024-11-27T14:19:30Z")
Roswell. 👽 No abductions, no probing, no lights in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/155 "2024-11-27T14:20:32Z")
I’ve driven with a professional (whatever the level below NASCAR is) on a track in the DFW area in a corporate putting. Don’t remember the name (over 20 years ago). It was scary, but I’m a nervous passenger at the best of times, and I HATE roller coasters. The guy said that even though it was an empty track he was really taking it easy compared to when he was actually racing. It was a curvy track (which I associate with open wheel racing) but the car was more like a NASCAR thing. Like a souped-up Trans-Am or Corvette maybe? You can probably tell I’m not a car person. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/156 "2024-11-27T14:32:38Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Four Corners, on the other hand, is over 2 hours from Gallup, NM. It is a half-day trip to get there and then back to the interstate. For us it was worth it. It was on Navajo land so souvenir money goes to the tribe and you will probably get the most authentic frybread that you can find except in someone’s house. IIRC, they have built it up since we were there. We have a picture of the 4 of us, each in a different state and of course I stood over it so I was in all 4 states at once. We knew we would only do it once so what’s a few hour drive to say we did it. > [@Railer13](#): > > Well, Meteor Crater is only about a 10 minute drive from I-40, if you happen to be driving that highway. It’s a good place to stop, stretch your legs and say, “That’s a big crater.” then continuing your drive. > [@enipla](#): > > But it’s with seafood. Anything. Lobster, crab, fish, whatever. All tastes disgusting to me. Because by the time it gets to Colorado, it’s already half-rotted. We have to order our fish frozen from Sea to Table. > [@enipla](#): > > My Wife and I are spoiled beef wise. My wife fell in love with grass-fed beef after I told her how much better taste-wise and health-wise it is. But talk about underwhelming - visit [Scanga Meat’s website](https://scangameat.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/157 "2024-11-27T14:58:23Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I mentioned a while back that one of the greatest paintings in the Louvre is in the same room, but hardly anyone looks at it because it’s upstaged by the little lady. I was at the MOMA and of course everyone is ohhing and awwing over “Starry Night”, me included. I wander around the gallery room and over in the corner, presented as just another painting and uncelebrated, is The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali. Doesn’t ring a bell? [![](https://www.singulart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/the-persistence-of-memory-1931.jpg) ](https://www.singulart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/the-persistence-of-memory-1931.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/158 "2024-11-27T15:04:27Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > [Meteor Crater, Arizona.](https://meteorcrater.com/) > > It’s in the middle of freaking nowhere. It’s a big hole in the ground. This is one of those YMMV situations. I visited it about a decade ago, as part of a road trip out of Vegas. Yeah, it’s in the middle of nowhere, but the contrast between the generally flat and boring area around it, and then suddenly, this big goddamned hole, kind of blew me away. I can’t imagine what the first person to see it thought of it. It might have helped that I’ve also seen the relatively smaller Sedan Crater that was made by a nuclear explosive, so I had some sense of how much bigger a boom the meteor was. ETA: Sedan Crater The resulting crater is 100 m (330 ft) deep with a diameter of about 390 m (1,280 ft). Meteor Crater is about 3,900 ft (1,200 m) in diameter, some 560 ft (170 m) deep ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/159 "2024-11-27T15:09:49Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > This is one of those YMMV situations. I visited it about a decade ago, as part of a road trip out of Vegas. A friend of mine was underwhelmed by the Grand Canyon. He said it was an impressively big hole in the ground, but still just a hole in the ground. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764/160 "2024-11-27T15:20:06Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Because by the time it gets to Colorado, it’s already half-rotted. We have to order our fish frozen from Sea to Table. I’ve tried seafood right out of the sea in Mexico and Seattle. I’ll try a bite of my wifes order. Um. No. Ha. Yeah their website is Nothing but a phone number and address. It looks like they have a Facebook page though. I don’t have a Facebook account. I suppose they have their customers. They don’t need to wave a flag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-underwhelmed/1010764.md?page=9)