When shooting in the RAW camera format, I've learned that some simple post processing is required to really make the pictures look their best. With only minor changes to sharpness, white balance, and color saturation, I think the photos can turn out much better than they look on first pass. Here's a pair of pictures with before and after the modifications. 

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/before_and_after/

Which one do you like better?