As promised, I’m back from vacation with a couple of shopping-related tales. I have to warn you, they are of the “feel-good” variety, so don’t expect any dirt.

I took a bus trip to the antiques shows of Brimfield, Mass., on the first day away from the office. I went on the same trip I did in May, the one coordinated by Jo Ann Basile of West Nyack. We had a ball, wandering the various fields, looking for “finds.”

Soon after our arrival, I met a dealer named Susan. I bought a lovely mirror from her, and she said she’d hold it for me until the end of the day. By mid-afternoon, each of the shoppers I was spending the day with had collected some treasures. And we were getting tired of carrying them. Since Susan’s booth was pretty close to the bus pick-up point, we decided to go back and ask (beg, ha!) if we could stash the rest of our stuff with my mirror. Well, she was so nice about it — made room for our stuff at the back of her tent and promised to keep an eye on it all. I even found another mirror among her wares — a Shabby Chic-inspired white one for $10 that I added to my pile.

We headed out for some more shopping. It was, I suppose, a leap of faith on our part — but you have to trust people. And when we went back to pick up our bags (and bags), she greeted us all like old friends, helped us pull out our loot and even offered to help us carry things back to the bus. I tried to give her a $10 bill, saying she should buy lunch on us the next day (we had been telling her about the delicious “pilgrim” sandwiches we had enjoyed earlier) but she would not accept the money.

Yes, it sounds awfully corny — but the whole experience with her made my day. (And you can be sure if I go back again next year, I’ll stop by her booth, say hello and likely buy from her again).

Most of the rest of my time off was spent in the Wildwood-Cape May area of New Jersey.

You always buy some things on vacation (I know I do, at least) — and I had fun shopping… imagine that!

Well, one evening my sister and I were in the Sunset Beach gift shop at the tip of Cape May. We picked up some souvenirs; I got a calendar for myself. The owner was very chatty and helpful, asking us where we were from, etc. After we each paid for our things, he went behind the counter and presented each of us with these necklaces made out of tiny shells. He said they were a gift; they didn’t sell them.

Now, I’m sure the necklaces aren’t “valuable” in dollars and cents, but they certainly hold value to me. Again, it made my night — and I have taken that strand of shells and entwined it among the whitewashed branches and roses that hang over my bureau, a simple reminder of a nice “shopping moment.”

Finally, we were in Morrow’s Nut House, a candy/gift shop that just screams old-time vacation. It’s near the old Convention Center in Cape May and is a place I like to stop in every visit. We were scoping out the candies and saw one we had never heard of — “pontefract cakes.” I asked the woman at the counter what they were and instead of telling us, simply opened the jar and handed us each one.

Again, simple gesture of kindness, big impression.

Enjoyed my time away… any shopping tales to tell me?