Traveling Beyond the Clinic: Blair Cornman's Adventure's with Land + See

For Blair Cornman, a dedicated veterinarian based in Signal Mountain, travel isn’t just a hobby—it’s a vital part of life. Balancing the demanding schedule of veterinary medicine with a desire to explore the world, Blair has turned travel into a way to recharge, connect, and see the world from a new perspective. We sat down with Blair to learn how Land + See trips have transformed her adventures abroad and why she believes every busy professional deserves a break from the everyday.

Finding Balance Through Travel

“Travel has always been something that I enjoyed,” Blair reflects. From family road trips in the U.S.—including visits to Dollywood—to studying abroad in London during college, her passion for seeing new places began early. Veterinary school opened doors to international travel, including multiple trips to Australia, cementing her love for exploring cities, towns, and cultures.

“Veterinary medicine is a career that is difficult to separate from home life most days,” Blair notes. “Being able to get away on vacation gives me something to look forward to, and when I’m actually on a trip, it’s a complete mental break from working.”

Joining a Land + See Adventure

Blair first discovered Land + See through local cycling connections in Chattanooga. She signed up for a Cuba trip, which was eventually canceled due to COVID, but later joined a Croatia adventure. “After that, Mandy couldn’t get rid of me!” she jokes. What draws Blair to Land + See trips is the simplicity and convenience. “Everything is planned. You don’t have to worry about hotels, travel within countries, or activities. The less I have to think about or plan, the better.”

The Power of Group Travel

Traveling with friends and fellow adventurers has been a key part of Blair’s experience. “I consistently travel with close friends on these trips. It’s a way for us to stay in touch and see each other regularly,” she explains. “But it’s also enjoyable to meet other people on the trips and learn about their backgrounds. You always have someone to do something with and can experience the destination from multiple viewpoints.”

Blair even credits group travel with pushing her outside her comfort zone. “Would I have jumped off a cliff in Croatia by myself? Doubtful. But when 20 other people are screaming at you to do it, peer pressure wins.”

Customized Extensions: Making Trips Personal

Blair and her friend and fellow vet, Katie Koss, often add customized extensions to their trips, such as in Portugal and Turkiye, to see more of the countries they visit. “Porto, Portugal was amazing. Istanbul’s beauty and cuisine were unforgettable,” Blair recalls. She credits Mandy from Land + See for tailoring the extensions to her preferences, which made the trips feel even more personal. “Not having to worry about travel, lodging, and activities allowed us to relax and enjoy the overall experience more.”

Memorable Moments and Lessons Learned

Among all her adventures, Blair highlights a trip to Africa as particularly impactful. “The landscape was magnificent, and as a veterinarian, seeing the animals in their natural habitat was incredible. Watching the big cats and realizing they share so many mannerisms with house cats was unforgettable—though petting them was definitely ‘frowned upon!’”

Sharing trips with friends has also deepened connections. “It’s been great mixing friends from veterinary school, work, and daily life, and even getting to know the friends they bring along. By the end of a trip, everyone is friends.”

Through these journeys, Blair has picked up a few enduring lessons:

• Calories don’t count on vacation: eat the cheese.

• You can’t get hungover on European wine.

• Don’t take yourself too seriously. Work will survive without you.

• Appreciate what you have in life.

For Blair, travel isn’t just about seeing new places—it’s about perspective, connection, and renewal. Whether exploring the streets of Europe, the wilds of Africa, or the culture-rich corners of Turkiye, these experiences remind her—and all of us—of the joy in stepping outside our routines. Through Land + See, Blair has found a way to make travel both accessible and deeply meaningful, proving that even the busiest professionals can—and should—find time to explore the world.

Traveler Highlight: Meet Liz

“Traveling far has a way of bringing you back to who you really are.”

Travel has been a part of my story for as long as I can remember. Maybe it’s because I started my life as a military brat. Maybe it’s from hearing my grandpa’s vivid stories of his family’s life in Poland before coming to America before WWII. Whatever the reason, I’ve always had wanderlust in my blood.

I started traveling young — family road trips, my dad Jeff opening up the giant Rand McNally map to plot our route from Missouri to Mississippi to visit grandparents. As I got older, life and work opened doors to explore further. In 2017, I visited Beijing, China. It was incredible, but I remember feeling the ache of traveling completely alone. There’s something irreplaceable about sharing a place with others — a meal in a centuries-old building, laughter on a bus ride — even if you didn’t arrive as close friends.

My aunt Yasmine had been a longtime supporter of Land & See Tours, so I’d seen glimpses of their trips for years. When a trip to Greece and Rome was announced for summer 2019, I jumped at the chance to join. These were bucket-list destinations for me. While my aunt wasn’t on that trip, I made lifelong friends — including my roommate Angela (a complete stranger at the time, but company owner Mandy has a gift for connecting people) — who almost instantly became my "travel twin". We had even packed the same hair towels!

Later, I finally got to travel with Yasmine on a Girls' Trip to Spain and Portugal. She’s been a constant in my life — from my early days as a young mom to figuring out my career path — so sharing the world with her was an unspeakable privilege. I’ll never forget being on a walking tour in Lisbon, Portugal, and just having this moment of “Hey girl, we made it.” There’s a photo of us on a rooftop terrace, the bluest sky above and the city spreading out behind us. It’s one of my most treasured pictures because it captures that exact feeling — finally traveling the world together, just as we’d talked about for a decade.

Now, over six years after my first Land & See trip, I’m signed up to take on Scotland with my husband in fall 2026. One of the things I love most about small group travel is how it evolves as you evolve. Sometimes it’s a girls’ trip where you rediscover yourself. Other times it’s a chance to reconnect with a loved one. Every time, it’s a chance to step outside the monotony of everyday life — and carving out even a week or two can change everything.

Through every trip, I’ve found this to be true: Traveling far has a way of bringing you back to who you really are. Standing in places that are centuries or millennia old is humbling — it’s a perspective you can’t get in the U.S.

My travel advice? Keep an open mind and stay flexible. Sometimes it’s a delayed flight, other times it’s an unexpected heat wave in late October. There’s a sweet spot between being prepared and overpacking. I might re-wear the same pair of jeans, but my “Mary Poppins” travel pouch is always stocked with Band-Aids, hand sanitizer, medications, and all those just-in-case items. (Lesson learned: always keep tissues with you — there’s nothing like realizing there’s no toilet paper in a bathroom where you don’t speak the language and can’t just ask your stall neighbor to pass some over!) A sense of humor goes a long way, as does keeping Google Translate handy on your phone.

Now, as a mom to a four-month-old, I’m learning that balance all over again. Our next trip will be when he’s over a year old, staying with close family. I’ll miss him, of course, but I know it will make me a more connected mother — because you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Travel has been there through every season of my life. Land & See Tours has made it possible to dig deeper into the world — through affordable monthly payments, a built-in travel community, and now, family trips. I can’t wait for the day we get to show our son the world, one adventure at a time.