The crowds came, jamming Island roads with traffic and filling restaurants, shops, farmers’ markets and shorefronts. Summer cultural events were filled to capacity. Perfect beach and swimming days stretched on as if they would never end. Farmers and gardeners decried the lack of rain, but the weather refused to budge from its summer agenda: relentless sunshine ruffled by cool sea breezes, foggy mornings and starry nights. Harbors and ponds were filled with sailors, kayakers and lazy-days fishermen. The Vineyard was the place to be this summer, or so it appeared. Since the annual exodus began a couple of short weeks ago, each day has seemed less busy than the last; soon, all that will be left are footprints in the sand.

Although the hard numbers are not in yet, by most accounts it has been a very good summer — for visitors eager to soak up the rays, for businesses on and off the water for whom eight weeks can make or break a year; but perhaps most importantly for the community at large. Despite the heat and crowds, for the first time in recent memory there were no fatal accidents and few major mishaps of any kind, although a spate of fires at the beginning of the summer tested the mettle of volunteer firefighters and emergency responders. As the official end of summer approaches, hurricanes have stayed offshore (so far), beaches have remained open (so far) and people have mostly behaved (so far).

Each year, congestion at the Triangle seems worse, lines grow outside coffee shops and restaurants, bulletin boards fill up with new and bigger events, more strollers and bikes appear on sidewalks and roadsides. But tourism is the lifeblood of the Vineyard, and for one glorious summer the Island’s circulation system seemed to work flawlessly. Some of it was luck, but it takes more than that to get through a summer on the Vineyard with so little drama. In large ways and small, the Island community worked together to absorb, manage and sometimes just endure another annual incursion, and made it look easy.

For year-round Islanders, many of them bone-tired from working long hours, September marks a distinct seasonal shift in rhythms. Neighbors greet one another these days as they pass on the streets — Happy September, we survived another one is the familiar refrain. This is the season Islanders look forward to. Traffic jams are gone for another year, parking spaces are suddenly available down-Island and at Menemsha, ocean water will stay warm enough for swimming well through the fall equinox.

Labor Day is Monday, and the Island joins the rest of the nation in celebrating the national holiday that recognizes the achievements of American workers and their contribution to the country. Post offices, banks and government offices will be closed. So will the Gazette office, as the hardworking staff takes its first official break since Memorial Day.

There are no parades or special events to mark Labor Day on the Vineyard, but as is the case in other resort communities, the holiday annually signals an unofficial end to the summer season. Outgoing ferries are full; incoming not so much. For visitors and summer residents still here, that means one last swim, one last sunset, one last bucket of clams. Then it will be time to head to the mainland for another year, or at least until Columbus Day or Thanksgiving. For Islanders, it means back to school and a return to other off-season community routines put on pause during the busy summer months.

Public schools open on Tuesday.

Derby days and bay scalloping lie ahead; soon the heat and humidity will give way to crisp mornings and evenings cloaked in mist.

Before we chalk up another season, however, let us pause to congratulate each other on a near-perfect summer, one that brought out the best in the Vineyard.