Nationals in Mission Viejo

My recommendation is to enter the events. The National committee does a great job of publishing the estimated timeline ahead of the meet, so you'll have a good idea (after you've entered) what events you'll actually be able to swim relative to the flights. Given that the 400 free is last, I can't see any reason you wouldn't be able to make the 10pm flight. Unless you're a hard-core-whiny-gotta-have-3-hours-between-events-sprinter, there will be GOBS of time between those two events. You'll need to re-apply sunblock at least once. My other recommendation: is there any option for you to fly out of John Wayne (SNA) airport? It is a much more sane airport and a short drive with relatively little risk of traffic from Mission Viejo. Plus, LAX -- unless you're flying internationally -- is about the worst airport in the country. I avoid it at all costs. I'm definitely not nit-picky, so I'll be good there :) As for the flight, we are considering the 10pm flight out of LAX since we save some money flying out from there than if we went left from SNA. However, we are still researching some other flights since we have few other kinks to work out in the whole family trip. It's mildly complicated since this isn't just a swim meet trip, but of course in the end we'll go with what works best. I appreciate all the help!

My recommendation is to enter the events. The National committee does a great job of publishing the estimated timeline ahead of the meet, so you'll have a good idea (after you've entered) what events you'll actually be able to swim relative to the flights. Given that the 400 free is last, I can't see any reason you wouldn't be able to make the 10pm flight. Unless you're a hard-core-whiny-gotta-have-3-hours-between-events-sprinter, there will be GOBS of time between those two events. You'll need to re-apply sunblock at least once. My other recommendation: is there any option for you to fly out of John Wayne (SNA) airport? It is a much more sane airport and a short drive with relatively little risk of traffic from Mission Viejo. Plus, LAX -- unless you're flying internationally -- is about the worst airport in the country. I avoid it at all costs. I'm definitely not nit-picky, so I'll be good there :) As for the flight, we are considering the 10pm flight out of LAX since we save some money flying out from there than if we went left from SNA. However, we are still researching some other flights since we have few other kinks to work out in the whole family trip. It's mildly complicated since this isn't just a swim meet trip, but of course in the end we'll go with what works best. I appreciate all the help!