A lot of people had Monday off, and still others cashed in on the Labor Day holiday.

The crowds were smaller at South Padre Island for the Labor Day holiday.

Lori Baugh was among the beach goers. She traveled from Austin to enjoy the sound of the water.

"It is the best music in the world. I am sitting here thinking I don't need music, this is the best music in the world," Baugh said.

Dallas resident Ryan Gardner and his family were also out at the island on Monday. Gardner says they visit South Padre Island at least once a year.

He prefers to avoid the peak summer beach crowds, that's why he likes the Labor Day trips.

"Just relaxing beach atmosphere. It could be packed wall-to-wall with people here in South Padre. It's a good time to be out here," Gardner said.

People from the Valley were also out at the island, kicking back.

Mercedes resident Eric Sanchez says summer is busy for his family. Labor Day was the only opportunity they could hit the beach.

"We got a lot of stuff going on with the kids in the summer. A lot of different activities that they are involved in, and it just worked out that the kids are off from school, and we were off from work. We decided to plan it and have a good time," Sanchez said.

Local restaurants are benefitting from the holiday crowd.

Meatball Café has seen an increase in sales of about twenty percent this summer compared to last summer.

They had to hire more people to help with the workload and extended their operating hours by an hour on the weekends this summer.

"We did stay open later on weekends. We didn't do that last year. We saw a need for customers who come in late. So we wanted to accommodate them," Meatball Café General Manager Tom Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth says September is when business starts to slow down, and he's already looking forward to next summer.

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