The Wave Organ

"A great time had by all, as the tide comes in "

San Francisco has any number of fun, educational, and artistic things to do and see, so when I heard about some wacky artist who decided to build a series of cement pipes on the shoreline to capture the sound of the sea, I thought it might be a waste of time.  Fortunately, I was wrong.  We parked a distance away, and walked along the shore to the Wave Organ.  It doesn’t look like much, just a series of cement platforms with curved pipes, hollow areas, and cut-outs.  As the waves roll in, however, it turns into something more.  Each opening reverberates with it’s own distinctive sounds as water rushes into and out of the tubes set down along the shoreline.  The sounds bear little resemblance to actual music, at least as I consider music to sound, but they are entertaining.  All of us scrambled around, putting our ears to the openings and taking a listen to the different sounds.  It was a blast, though we ended up a little damp from the sea spray and a few wayward waves.  We have heard from friends that they didn’t get much out of the place, but they went at low tide, so there was little to get.  Check the tide schedule, and plan to arrive as the tide is coming in, not necessarily at high tide, and you will have a lot of fun, especially with younger children.  Keep a good eye on little ones, as there is no railing to speak of.  There were no other families there while we were there, only a young couple, so it wasn’t busy.