The Wave Organ.

The great thing about living in a town like San Francisco is that you never really run out of places to see and things to do.  In fact, it's the exact opposite of that. 

Take the Wave Organ for example.  I've been meaning to visit this acoustic sculpture for almost as long as I've been in SF (3 years next month!) and just got around to it today.  

After my dentist appointment (no cavities!) and under warm grey skies (which reminded me of home) I pedaled my bicycle down to the bay.  After passing sailboat (yea!) after yacht (boo) after sailboat (yea!) after yacht (hiss) I resolved yet again to seek out sailing instruction, for I hope to one day own a boat of my own.  At one point in my life I wanted to take my entire 40th year off and sail around the world.  I've scaled back on my promise, but not by much.  Now I hope to take the year off and bicycle the length and breath of Japan.  But that's another post altogether.

Suffice to say I eventually found the organ.  It's tucked away at the very end of a small spit of land no wider then a two lane road.  To find it you must first brave the Golden Gate Yacht club and it's environs, and then, beyond that, a gravel road pockmarked by craters (and, on this particular day, mammoth puddles) and surrounded on both sides by pounding surf.

Constructed from various stones which were salvaged from the demolition of Laurel Hill Cemetery, the Wave Organ is truly a sight to behold.  25 organ pipes made of pvc and concrete protrude into the bay at various heights and depths, allowing for the rising and falling of the tides.  These pipes funnel and amplify the sounds of the waves, producing a symphony of rumbles, gurgles, sloshes, and hisses.  I arrived at a relatively peaceful time (neither high nor low tide) and so the symphony was quite subdued.  I sat for a while, swaying to the sounds of the sea, before I noticed an ugly cloud formation headed over the headlands and across the bay.  By the time the first pellets of rain hit I was already speeding away on my bicycle to seek refuge at a nearby Irish pub where I was served a 6 dollar Guinness.

It was all worth it.