by Harriot Manley, Sunset contributor

For anyone who has taken the 27-mile boat ride out of San Francisco Bay's Golden Gate to the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge, a trio of remote, mostly rock islands, you probably agree it’s amazing—with roughly a quarter-million sea birds squawking from the cliffs and swirling overhead. That's not to mention seals, sea lions, orcas, and porpoises, plus grey, blue, and humpback whales, and (yes) great white sharks churning the cold waters. You probably also agree once is enough, given the often unfortunate stomach-related consequences of bumping through ocean swells for hours on end.

Now, there’s relief, and it isn’t in the form of a Dramamine pill. The Point Reyes Bird Observatory, a long-standing scientific presence on the island, has joined with the California Academy of Sciences to install a live, solar-powered web-cam on the refuge’s Southeast Farallon Island. According to PRBO, the live camera feed, scheduled to begin today, June 8, at calacademy.org/webcams/farallones, will be accompanied by animal identification guides, Farallones history, and research and conservation information.

“Since the islands aren't accessible to the general public, the webcam will be a valuable tool not only for scientists, but for casual observers too,” says Dr. Jack Dumbacher, lead scientist on the project. “The wildlife observations from this webcam will assist with research, guide conservation decisions, and hopefully inspire citizens to care about this valuable resource right in San Francisco’s backyard.”

By Anna Nordberg, Sunset's special projects editor

Your weekend planner: The Wall Street Journal has a roundup of spring wine events and yes, most of them happen out here (California, Oregon, Washington, Vancouver). And even though our blog is obsessed with the West, it's interesting to read about other up-and-coming areas (Georgia, who knew?)

Deals, deals, deals: National Geographic Traveler's blog writes about late-season skiing in Jackson Hole; you can also scroll down to see all of their Western coverage. This is a terrific stockpile of travel ideas.

Feel good about where you live: The international travel blog World Hum has a list of the seven best cities to drink coffee. After scrolling through Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, and Wellington, New Zealand, I was getting a tad anxious that there would be no American representation at all. But there, at the end, was Seattle—and justice.

The post singles out Fremont and Ballard as neighborhoods where you can sip like a local. Want a second opionion? Here are Sunset's Western coffee picks.

News at Disney: If you're wondering why you're smelling french fries on the rides at Disneyland, it's because the park has made a commitment to cut emissions by 50% over the next few years—and that includes using biodiesel (which apparently smells like french fries when burned) to power many of the rides.

And just because the blogosphere can't seem to get enough of the Twilight saga, here's a sighting of Edward (for all of you who don't have teenage girls at home—that's the hero of Stephanie Meyers vampire love story, set it our very own Forks, Washington) in a Vancouver pub.