Waltzing on the Danube with Peggy Kirk Bell

Twenty-five years ago, I drew one of those assignments that happen in life — to the fortunate few. As a senior editor at LINKS magazine, I signed on to document the first golf cruise put on by Kalos Tours, a respected travel outfit from Chapel Hill, N.C. 

On the docket were easing down the Danube on the River Cloud, a modern equivalent of a 1930s-style private yacht, embarking for sightseeing excursions in Hungary, Austria and Germany and occasionally breaking up the days with golf rounds in each country.  Ain’t no bad in that lineup, as my mother-in-law used to say. Little did I know that the highlight of the trip would be the irrepressible joy that radiated from our “celebrity” host, Peggy Kirk Bell.