It was a beautiful Labor Day morning and we decided to get away from the lake and drive into the city.

No, that’s not a typo.

When you live on a public lake beautiful summer holidays bring crowds and the easiest thing to do is to back away and tend your garden or go shopping and leave the water to “the weekend people.”

We don’t really have “summer people” here. Those who can get away for the summer know they need to be in the mountains or on the coast, or maybe on a lake in Wisconsin. Some place where it’s cool. The closest we come to summer people here are school kids who come spend a few weeks with their grandparents.

Texas lakes are a workingclass pleasure. The crowds come out on weekends, and more come on Labor Day weekend than any other. Some have cabins and some are just out for the day. They pull boats or jetskis behind big four-wheel drive pickups, heading for the public boat ramps. Local people usually wave when you pass them on the road even if they don’t know you, but daytrippers don’t usually wave unless it’s with a beer can.

Our is a small lake, and it does not draw big crowds. On the other hand a dozen power boats can make a pretty busy crowd. There’s no point in even trying to do any fishing, not with the wake churning everything.

It’s okay. I live in a paradise year round and I don’t mind sharing. It feels festive to sit on the deck with a cool drink and the background sound of laughter and the squeals of pleasure when the skiers and tubers get dumped in the water.

But just as well to go someplace else for the day. We met daughter and grand-daughter in the city and visited the museums and went out to dinner together and even did a little shopping.

That was yesterday and it was still summer then. Now it’s misting rain and it feels like fall already. A lone fisherman sits in a boat on the far side of the lake.