Why I’ll Never Get Tired of Sunrise at Esquimalt Lagoon
It had been a while since I’d done one of my favourite Vancouver Island morning rituals.
Life’s been busy, work’s been busy, and if I’m being honest, I’d been spending a little too much time doing responsible adult things and not nearly enough time doing grab a coffee and drive to the ocean before sunrise things.
So last weekend, I fixed that.
Coffee in hand, still half asleep, I pointed the truck toward Esquimalt Lagoon while most sane people were still warm in bed making good life choices.
I, on the other hand, was chasing sunrise with a drone in the back seat like the sleep-deprived coastal goblin I apparently am.
And wow… what a payoff.
The kind of payoff that makes you laugh a little because it almost feels rude how beautiful this place can be.
The water was glassy, the sky started flexing before the sun even cleared the horizon, and Fisgard Lighthouse was sitting there in the middle of it all looking like it knew exactly how photogenic it was.
Some places just have that effect.
Esquimalt Lagoon is one of them.
Every time I go out there, it gives me something different. Some mornings it’s moody and dramatic, some mornings it’s all soft pastel calm, and sometimes it just decides to absolutely show off like it did last weekend.
This was one of those “okay fine, I guess I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth” mornings.
And honestly, I needed that reminder.
No rushing.
No forcing content.
No “I should probably be editing something.”
Just coffee, calm water, ridiculous skies, and a peaceful sunrise that made all the responsible-adult excuses from the last few weeks feel pretty silly.
The stills turned out beautifully, and I’ve got some really nice video from the morning still to come, which I’m pretty excited about.
But even beyond the footage, it was just good for the soul.
That’s the part I think gets lost sometimes when we turn hobbies into businesses or “content.”
Sometimes the whole point is just:
get out there
breathe the salt air
watch the Island wake up
remind yourself how lucky we are to call this place home
And if you happen to come back with gorgeous aerials, well, that’s a pretty nice bonus.
This is exactly why I still love doing this.
Not because every sunrise needs to become a Reel or a YouTube video.
But because every once in a while, Vancouver Island gives you one of those mornings that makes you stop, laugh, and think:
yeah… this place is ridiculous.
And thankfully, we get to live here.
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