Sometimes, I am not sure why they even let me in the building. I was standing in the Mont Blanc boutique on the famed, yet ridiculous, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, surrounded by 20 of the best looking people on the planet, all of whom were dressed impeccably and were well-quaffed. I was grateful that I showered and somehow managed to find a pair of crumpled blue jeans. I had a sense that something didn’t quite fit. It was a media event to celebrate the new Mont Blanc “Mark Twain” pen.

Truthfully, this writing is not an endorsement of the pen because, while super cool, it costs a bundle, more than what I could wrap my head around or afford. I didn’t even touch the display pen as it sparkled behind thick glass. Still, I find meeting new contacts (it was a first for me and the Mont Blanc team) beneficial. I wondered whether Twain would have endorsed such a pricey pen.

However, I am a sucker for Twain, one of the great travel writers of all time. There are still a few months left before the 100 year anniversary of his death, so the pen seemed appropriate. Personally, I thought it important to offer a shout out to someone who made travel writing fashionable. For all fans of travel writing, I highly suggest Twain’s Innocents Abroad and The Tramp Abroad as travel classics.

Beyond the sumptuous hors d’oeuvres and beautiful Rodeo Drive people, there was a short presentation by Steve Courtney of the Mark Twain House & Museum and the presentation of the very first Mont Blanc pen to Hal Holbrook, who may be most famous for doing a one-man show performed as Twain — and performed Twain better than anyone else, I might add. I could not help but enjoy both moments.

For those not familiar with Hal Holbrook’s Twain, please enjoy a taste below.

After chatting with Steve Courtney and Hal Holbrook about Twain while trying to hide how impressed I was by them, I made an abrupt exit from the Mont Blanc boutique in my dust-covered Honda before the beautiful people would see me. As I drove home, I wondered what Twain would have written about this night.