Even when the sun came out Monday afternoon, it was clear there wouldn't be big Memorial Day crowds at Westlake Park at Lewisville Lake.
A handful of boats cranked music at "Party Cove", but folks said the overall dreary weekend with scattered rain showers kept crowds fairly small this year, on what's generally one of the busiest days of the year at the park.
Missing the fun was a loss for many, but likely no one more than lake business owners who are already feeling a pinch from the drought.
Carl Burmeister, owner of Aloha Hydro-Sports, said boat and jet ski rentals have been down since the beginning of the drought.
He's also having to deal with a lot of damaged crafts due to rocks and sand-bars coming to the surface of the low leveled lakes.
"It's kind of a catch 22," said Burmeister. "We want rain, but not today."
Workers at City Park's fishing barge said they've seen fewer customers, too, especially since fish aren't biting as well in the shallow waters. But the rainy weekend did them no favors, either.
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Owners at DFW Surf on The Colony side of the lake saw small crowds Monday, too, although they said they did fairly well most of the rest of the weekend and are optimistic because the season is just starting.
"Memorial Day is just the start of summer," said owner Tyler Marshall.
So while the holiday weekend may not have stacked up to the business they'd hoped for, most of the lakeside business owners said the much more pressing situation is the overall lack of rain that's causing problems for all.
They're hoping for an all-out wash-out day or two in the coming weeks.
