Talbot County, Maryland is old. Very old. One of the earliest buildings dates back to 1682, a Quaker Meeting House, the site of the oldest religious building still in use in the United States. But more than the origin of its buildings, three favorite sons of the county encapsulate its history in different but fascinating ways. Two were symbols of the Revolutionary War, the other of the Civil War. One a resident (though he wouldn't have been considered so at the time…) of St. Michael's, another Oxford, and the third his very own island, Tilghman.

Although our first President, George Washington, never lived in the White House - it was not completed until the administration of our second president, John Adams. President John Adams is credited with owning the first Presidential Pets: two mixed breed dogs, named Juno and Satan. John Adams' tenure in the White House was short-lived (he lost reelection later that year), but many dogs and cats have served as First Pets ever since. John Adams' son, President John Quincy Adams, received an alligator as a gift from France's Marquis de Lafayette.

Many of America's presidents have found friendship and solace in their pets. It's a tradition that goes all the way back to founding father, President George Washington, the founding father who also bred foxhounds. As of today, 46 U.S. Presidents have had pets while they resided in the White House. And, like many of us today, the pets became part of their families, offering courage, patience, forgiveness, unconditional love and comfort, particularly during stressful periods for president in office.

The Palladian Traveler meanders around the town that George Washington envisioned, stopping long enough to smell the cherry blossoms, soak in the history, marvel at the art and architecture and inhale the aromas of epicurean delights as he files his latest dispatch from the US capital.