rangerpicks
- Most divided: Seattle Seawolves @ California Legion (53% / 47%)
- Biggest consensus: Anthem Rugby Carolina in Old Glory DC @ Anthem Rugby Carolina (80%)
- Old Glory DC @ Anthem Rugby Carolina: Old Glory DC beat the crowd (only 20% picked them)
- 4 correct: 2
- 2 correct: 11
- 1 correct: 10
- 0 correct: 7
- Bozo6 scored 1 (1 correct) and nailed Old Glory DC
- Definitely Not a Ranger - Rugby Morning scored 4 (3 correct + 1 bonus for a perfect week) and nailed Old Glory DC
- Diamond Dave scored 2 (2 correct)
- freejack fitzy scored 4 (3 correct + 1 bonus for a perfect week) and nailed Old Glory DC. (Reigning Champ)
- Ranger Bunny scored 1 (1 correct)
- Ranger John scored 2 (2 correct)
- Ranger Payne scored 1 (1 correct)
- Uncle Phil scored 0 (0 correct)
- Lucky scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- OppositionKing scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- P_reggie scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- Ranger Kathy scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- RuckNRoll scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- Sabercatto scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- TFR Supreme Commissioner Ye scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- UnforgivenPotato scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- Becca scored 0 (0 correct) after scoring 1 last week
- Ranger Dingo scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 1 last week
- freejack fitzy — 10
- P_reggie — 8
- RuckNRoll — 8
- TFR Supreme Commissioner Ye — 8
- Definitely Not a Ranger - Rugby Morning — 7
- Lucky — 7
- the rugby Rick — 7
- UnforgivenPotato — 7
- Bozo6 — 6
- Ranger Bunny — 6
- Most divided: Old Glory DC @ New England Free Jacks (29% / 71%)
- Biggest consensus: Chicago Hounds in California Legion @ Chicago Hounds (84%)
- 4 correct: 1
- 2 correct: 15
- 1 correct: 18
- 0 correct: 4
- Bozo6 scored 1 (1 correct)
- Definitely Not a Ranger - Rugby Morning scored 1 (1 correct) and nailed Old Glory DC
- Diamond Dave scored 2 (2 correct) and nailed Anthem Rugby Carolina
- freejack fitzy scored 2 (2 correct) and nailed Anthem Rugby Carolina. (Reigning Champ)
- Ranger Bunny scored 1 (1 correct)
- Ranger John scored 2 (2 correct) and nailed Anthem Rugby Carolina
- Ranger Payne scored 1 (1 correct)
- Uncle Phil scored 2 (2 correct) and nailed Anthem Rugby Carolina
- MLRStats scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 4 last week
- P_reggie scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 4 last week
- Ross scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 4 last week
- TFR Supreme Commissioner Ye scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 4 last week
- UnforgivenPotato scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 4 last week
- Becca scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- Byrdak of the Broken Line scored 1 (1 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- GrandVizier scored 0 (0 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- Lucky scored 2 (2 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- Pingree Panthers scored 0 (0 correct) after scoring 2 last week
- freejack fitzy — 6
- Lucky — 6
- P_reggie — 6
- RuckNRoll — 6
- TFR Supreme Commissioner Ye — 6
- Uncle Phil — 6
- UnforgivenPotato — 6
- Bozo6 — 5
- MLRStats — 5
- Ranger Bunny — 5
- Most divided: Old Glory DC @ New England Free Jacks (29% / 71%)
- Biggest consensus: Chicago Hounds in California Legion @ Chicago Hounds (84%)
- Bozo6 is riding with Seattle Seawolves, Chicago Hounds, New England Free Jacks
- Definitely Not a Ranger - Rugby Morning is riding with Seattle Seawolves, California Legion, Old Glory DC — including 2 underdogs
- Diamond Dave is riding with Anthem Rugby Carolina, Chicago Hounds, New England Free Jacks — including 1 underdog
- freejack fitzy is riding with Anthem Rugby Carolina, Chicago Hounds, New England Free Jacks — including 1 underdog. (Reigning Champ)
- Ranger Bunny is riding with Seattle Seawolves, Chicago Hounds, New England Free Jacks
- Ranger John is riding with Anthem Rugby Carolina, Chicago Hounds, New England Free Jacks — including 1 underdog
- Ranger Payne is riding with Seattle Seawolves, Chicago Hounds, New England Free Jacks
- Uncle Phil is riding with Anthem Rugby Carolina, Chicago Hounds, New England Free Jacks — including 1 underdog
- MLRStats (after scoring 4 last week) picked SEA, CHI, NEFJ
- P_reggie (after scoring 4 last week) picked SEA, CHI, OGDC
- Ross (after scoring 4 last week) picked SEA, CHI, NEFJ
- TFR Supreme Commissioner Ye (after scoring 4 last week) picked SEA, CHI, OGDC
- UnforgivenPotato (after scoring 4 last week) picked SEA, CHI, OGDC
- Becca (after scoring 2 last week) picked SEA, CHI, NEFJ
- Byrdak of the Broken Line (after scoring 2 last week) picked SEA, CHI, NEFJ
- GrandVizier (after scoring 2 last week) picked SEA, CAL, NEFJ
- Lucky (after scoring 2 last week) picked SEA, CHI, OGDC
- Pingree Panthers (after scoring 2 last week) picked SEA, CAL, NEFJ
- Seattle Seawolves @ Anthem Rugby Carolina: Seattle Seawolves leads the all-time series 3-0-0. The crowd is siding with the historical edge
- California Legion @ Chicago Hounds: First-ever meeting
- Old Glory DC @ New England Free Jacks: New England Free Jacks leads the all-time series 8-4-0. The crowd is siding with the historical edge
- Bozo6 — 4
- freejack fitzy — 4
- Lucky — 4
- MLRStats — 4
- P_reggie — 4
- Ranger Bunny — 4
- Ranger Lil Payne — 4
- Ranger X — 4
- Ross — 4
- RuckNRoll — 4
- Anthem Rugby Carolina @ California Legion (28% / 73%)
- 2 correct: 11
- 0 correct: 29
- Beaver Paw scored 0 (0 correct). (Former champ and post season runner up)
- Bozo6 scored 2 (1 correct + 1 bonus for a perfect week) and nailed Anthem Rugby Carolina
- Definitely Not a Ranger - Rugby Morning scored 0 (0 correct)
- Diamond Dave scored 0 (0 correct)
- freejack fitzy scored 0 (0 correct). (Reigning Champ)
- Ranger Bunny scored 2 (1 correct + 1 bonus for a perfect week) and nailed Anthem Rugby Carolina
- Ranger Frank scored 0 (0 correct). (Back to back post season champ)
- Ranger John scored 0 (0 correct)
- Ranger Payne scored 0 (0 correct)
- Uncle Phil scored 2 (1 correct + 1 bonus for a perfect week) and nailed Anthem Rugby Carolina
- Anthem Rugby Carolina @ California Legion (28% / 73%)
- Beaver Paw is riding with California Legion. (Former champ and post season runner up)
- Bozo6 is riding with Anthem Rugby Carolina
- Definitely Not a Ranger - Rugby Morning is riding with California Legion
- Diamond Dave is riding with California Legion
- freejack fitzy is riding with California Legion. (Reigning Champ)
- Ranger Bunny is riding with Anthem Rugby Carolina
- Ranger Frank is riding with California Legion. (Back to back post season champ)
- Ranger John is riding with California Legion
- Ranger Payne is riding with California Legion
- Uncle Phil is riding with Anthem Rugby Carolina
- Anthem Rugby Carolina @ California Legion: First-ever meeting
- Average prediction: 7.3-2.7
- Median wins: 7
- Most common prediction: 7-3 (11 Rangers)
- Best-case prediction: 10-0
- Most cautious prediction: 4-6
- Biggest believers: Ranger Muppet, Ranger Becca
- Most cautious: James Arthur Deeley
- Perfect season watch: Ranger Muppet, Ranger Becca predicted a 10-0 run
- Biggest confidence spot: Week 3 vs. Old Glory DC (96% picked a win)
- Biggest danger game: Week 4 at Chicago Hounds (67% predicted a loss)
- Toss-up games: Week 2 at California Legion, Week 10 at Seattle Seawolves
- Ranger John checks in at 7-3
- Ranger Payne checks in at 8-2
- freejack fitzy checks in at 8-2
- Uncle Phil checks in at 8-2
- Dave McVey sees more danger than most at 7-3, fading the crowd on Week 4 at Chicago Hounds and Week 8 at Old Glory DC
- Bozo6 is more cautious at 6-4, with concern centered on Week 2 at California Legion and Week 6 vs. Seattle Seawolves
- Ranger Bunny is more cautious at 6-4, with concern centered on Week 2 at California Legion and Week 3 vs. Old Glory DC
- Ranger Frank sees more danger than most at 7-3, fading the crowd on Week 4 at Chicago Hounds and Week 6 vs. Seattle Seawolves. Reigning Champ
- Houston — 17
- Miami — 3
- Utah — 3
- NOLA — 2
- San Diego — 2
Midseason Ranger Picks Check-In: Optimism Takes a Beating
Back in the preseason, we asked Rangers to predict the Free Jacks’ week-by-week record through the 2026 regular season. At the halfway mark, the standings in our little prediction contest look almost as chaotic as the actual season.
The Free Jacks are sitting at 1–4 through Week 6, which is not exactly what most of us had penciled in after three straight titles. The lone bright spot so far was the Week 5 win over Anthem RC, but the losses to California, Old Glory, Chicago, and Seattle have turned a lot of preseason confidence into cold, hard spreadsheet regret.
Leading the pack right now is MLRStats and NARugbyDB guru James Deeley, who has nailed 4 of the first 5 results. That is especially impressive because it required being considerably less optimistic than the rest of us.
Right behind, with 3 correct picks, are Beaver Paw, TBD, Ranger Jules, Ranger John, Ranger Bunny, Ray, Ranger Frank, freejack fitzy, Ross Parlon, and — importantly — Bozo6. Bozo6 may have been bracing for turbulence, correctly calling the Seattle loss and avoiding the full sunshine-and-rainbows trap.
Meanwhile, we have to give special attention to the TJRS Outriders: Uncle Phil, Diamond Dave, and Bozo6. Uncle Phil and Diamond Dave are both sitting at 2 correct, which puts them in the giant middle of the table: not buried, not bragging, just waiting for the second half to make them look wise. Bozo6, though, is currently the best of the call-out crew at 3 correct, proving that sometimes the weirdest-looking prediction sheet name is the one you should fear.
The most surprising misses? Almost everyone expected a home win over Old Glory DC. Instead, Old Glory came into New England and stole it 21–19. The Seattle result was another bracket-buster: most Rangers picked the Free Jacks at home, but Seattle walked away with a 27–11 win.
The most optimistic predictions belong to Ranger Muppet and Ranger Becca, who both called for a perfect 10–0 run. That dream lasted until Week 2, when California handed New England a 43–5 loss — officially a very rude way to start a prediction contest.
There is still plenty of season left, and that means plenty of room for redemption, collapse, chaos, and spreadsheet arguments. At the halfway mark, though, the Rangers who believed in a bumpy road are the ones wearing the crown.
Week 6 picks are open! rangerpicks.rugby/week6
MLR Ranger Picks — Week 4 Results
Here’s how the weekend shook out — plus who won the week and where the season leaderboard stands.
Picks at a glance
| Match | Away picks | Home picks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England Free Jacks @ Chicago Hounds | New England Free Jacks (40%) | Chicago Hounds (60%) | Winner: Chicago Hounds |
| Seattle Seawolves @ California Legion | Seattle Seawolves (53%) | California Legion (47%) | Winner: California Legion |
| Old Glory DC @ Anthem Rugby Carolina | Old Glory DC (20%) | Anthem Rugby Carolina (80%) | Consensus · Outlier · Winner: Old Glory DC |
Highlights
Week 4 results
Upsets:
Week winners: Definitely Not a Ranger - Rugby Morning, freejack fitzy (4 points including perfect-week bonus)
Score distribution:
The Old Mate
Chicago Hounds successfully defended The Old Mate in their first defense of the current reign. 18 Rangers saw the defense coming (60%).
Featured Rangers
Last week’s top finishers
These Rangers scored points in Week 3, were not already featured above, and here’s how they did this week:
Season leaderboard (top 10)
Freejack Fitzy starting to pull away…
Check out the weekly and season leadership tables
Want in next week? Get your picks in no later than the day before kickoff.
MLR Ranger Picks — Week 3 Results
Here’s how the weekend shook out — plus who won the week and where the season leaderboard stands.
Picks at a glance
| Match | Away picks | Home picks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seawolves @ Anthem Rugby Carolina | Seattle Seawolves (79%) | Anthem Rugby Carolina (21%) | Winner: Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| California Legion @ Chicago Hounds | California Legion (16%) | Chicago Hounds (84%) | Consensus · Outlier · Winner: Chicago Hounds |
| Old Glory DC @ New England Free Jacks | Old Glory DC (29%) | New England Free Jacks (71%) | Winner: Old Glory DC |
Highlights
Week 3 results
Week winner: Rugby (4 points including perfect-week bonus)
Score distribution:
The Old Mate
The MLR Supporters Challenge Cup (The Old Mate) has changed hands.
Chicago Hounds defeated California Legion to claim The Old Mate, ending a reign of 0 successful defenses. Only 32 Rangers predicted the title change (84%).
Featured Rangers
Last week’s top finishers
These Rangers scored points in Week 2, were not already featured above, and here’s how they did this week:
Season leaderboard (top 10)
Check out the weekly and season leadership tables
Want in next week? Get your picks in no later than the day before kickoff.
MLR Ranger Picks — Week 3 Picks
Before kickoff, here’s where everyone landed — consensus picks, tight splits, and the bold underdogs.
Picks at a glance
| Match | Away picks | Home picks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seawolves @ Anthem Rugby Carolina | Seattle Seawolves (79%) | Anthem Rugby Carolina (21%) | |
| California Legion @ Chicago Hounds | California Legion (16%) | Chicago Hounds (84%) | Consensus · Outlier |
| Old Glory DC @ New England Free Jacks | Old Glory DC (29%) | New England Free Jacks (71%) |
Highlights
Featured Rangers
Last week’s top finishers to watch
These Rangers scored points in Week 2, are not already featured above, and here’s where they landed this week:
Matchup history
The Old Mate
The MLR Supporters Challenge Cup (The Old Mate) will be on the line this weekend as California Legion travel to Chicago Hounds.
This will be the first defense since California Legion claimed the title.
The Rangers are leaning Chicago Hounds (84%) over California Legion (16%).
Season leaderboard (top 10)
Week 3 picks are open! Don’t wait, make them now
Reminder to make your week 2 picks. The form closes just before midnight **Thursday** night. Head over to https://rangerpicks.rugby now!
MLR Ranger Picks — Week 1 Results
Here’s how the weekend shook out — plus who won the week and where the season leaderboard stands.
Picks at a glance
| Match | Away picks | Home picks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthem Rugby Carolina @ California Legion | Anthem Rugby Carolina (28%) | California Legion (73%) |
Highlights
Week 1 results
Week winners: Bozo6, Lucky, Ranger Abi, Ranger Bunny, Ranger Jules, Ranger Lil Payne, Ranger X, RuckNRoll, Rugby Nana, The Rucking Goat, Uncle Phil (2 points including perfect-week bonus)
Score distribution:
Featured Rangers
Want in next week? Get your picks in no later than the day before kickoff.
MLR Ranger Picks — Week 1 Picks
Before kickoff, here’s where everyone landed — consensus picks, tight splits, and the bold underdogs.
Picks at a glance
| Match | Away picks | Home picks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthem Rugby Carolina @ California Legion | Anthem Rugby Carolina (28%) | California Legion (73%) |
Highlights
Featured Rangers
Matchup history
The Old Mate
The MLR Supporters Challenge Cup (The Old Mate) is not on the line this week. (See episode 2 of Inside MLR for a quick explanation)
Reminder to make your week 1 picks. The form closes just before midnight Friday night. Head over to https://rangerpicks.rugby now!
Way Too Early: Rangers Predict the Free Jacks 2026 Season
Rangers Predict the Free Jacks 2026 Season
Before the season gets underway, the Rangers are already setting expectations for the Free Jacks. The overall mood is confident, but not without a few warning signs on the schedule.
The big picture
Optimists vs. skeptics
Game-by-game confidence
| Matchup | Win | Lose |
|---|---|---|
| Week 2 at California Legion | 44% | 56% |
| Week 3 vs. Old Glory DC | 96% | 4% |
| Week 4 at Chicago Hounds | 33% | 67% |
| Week 5 vs. Anthem RC | 93% | 7% |
| Week 6 vs. Seattle Seawolves | 89% | 11% |
| Week 7 vs. California Legion | 96% | 4% |
| Week 8 at Old Glory DC | 74% | 26% |
| Week 9 at Anthem RC | 96% | 4% |
| Week 10 at Seattle Seawolves | 37% | 63% |
| Week 11 vs. Chicago Hounds | 74% | 26% |
What stands out
Featured Rangers
Bonus question: biggest offseason surprise
Now we wait to see whether the Rangers nailed it — or got way too early a little too wrong.
Want to play along week by week? Join us at rangerpicks.rugby
Ranger Picks 2026 Week 1
It is now one week and one day until #MLR2026 starts officially. While some of us will be at the Free Jacks Pre Season festival, Anthem Rugby Carolina will be traveling to California Legion to officially kick off the season.
It is time to get your prediction in for this single match week. Bonus points for the getting all the picks in a week correct still apply even this week, so it’s effectively a double point weekend! Head over to https://rangerpicks.rugby/week1 now - the form will automatically close Friday night, don’t be left out!
Just a reminder that the way too early form closes tonight at midnight EDT!
I have arbitrarily decided to close the way too early predictions on Friday March 20th at around 11:30PM EDT. Get your guesses in soon!
Ranger Picks 2026
Ranger Picks is coming back in 2026. The forms are already published, the spreadsheets templated, formula created. Our way too early predictions are coming in.
We will start with 1 match in week 1 between Anthem RC and California Legion.
A BIG difference for Ranger Picks in 2026 is that no longer will I have to remember to close out the forms! The forms will AUTOMATICALLY close at one minute before midnight (EDT) the night before the first match of the week (including the way too early form in week 1). If you snooze, you lose, so get those picks in as soon as the forms are published :)
Ranger Picks MLR2025 PostSeason Championship
The 2025 MLR Championship is over. Along with the 2025 MLR season, and Ranger Picks MLR 2025 PostSeason presented by TJRS.
Perhaps not surprising considering the origin of Ranger Picks, the Free Jacks were the out and out favorite to win the championship (64%). Not much between Utah (14%) and Houston (11%) in 2nd and 3rd - recall that we place the picks at the beginning of the post season so kudos to those who actually ended up with NEFJ and Sabercats in the final!
As we all know now, the Free Jacks secured the three peat with a 28-22 victory in Rhode Island. For the championship round we had 5 points up for grabs, and 18 pickers took them:
As you can deduce, our leaders up to the championship had somewhat predictable final predictions - Sabercatto (HOU), Beaver Paw (NEFJ) and Ranger Frank (NEFJ), so Sabercatto getting 0 points tumbled in the overall standings:
So in our 2nd year of post season picks, we have a tie break with two players making perfect picks and collecting all 19 points. In the first tie break we get closest (in absolute value as over/under wasn’t specified) to the final score.
Beaver Paw had a respectable prediction of 24-17 which I thought difficult to beat.
Our reigning post season champion Ranger Frank on the other hand, sweeps in with this prediction:
Absolutely incredible!
Congrats to our first back-to-back champion in Ranger Picks history!
Ranger Picks MLR 2025 Conference Finals Picks and Results
Round 2 of the MLR 2025 Ranger Picks Post Season is done! It’s taken me a couple of days to come to grips with the results but now I’m ready for Saturday!
The semi finals (or conference finals) kicked off with a wild and crazy match at Fort Quincy. A massive 90% picked NEFJ to come through. 3% picked Chicago, and as a byproduct of us picking ahead of the first match, 7% chose OGDC. In the West, Houston was favorite amongst our players, with 42%. Utah second with 32% but the close regular season in the west along with playoff perennials Seattle lead to non-contenders Seattle getting 18% and LA getting 7%.
With 3 points per correct pick in this round, there’s 6 points up for grabs. 8 of us (myself included) managed to get all 6 points.
The overall leaderboard is starting to take shape. We have a 3 way tie at the front… Ranger Frank is still holding on to a chance for a repeat. Beaver Paw is looking to regain some glory from the regular season loss, and Fantasy Ruckers Community manager Sabercatto is hoping for a first victory in Ranger Picks!
Its not over until the final whistle - good luck everyone!
Ranger Picks MLR 2025 PostSeason Picks and Conference Semi Final Results
The post season is off and running! All picks are in, as well as the Quarter Final results (or conference semi finals if you prefer)
Starting off with Saturday - a solid 80% picked Chicago to defeat the visiting OGDC. A little less confident in Utah but still favoring the home team with 61% against Seattle.
On Sunday, 93% picked NEFJ over the visiting Sharks and again 61% picked Houston over RFC LA. Do we have an east coast bias in Ranger Picks or is it just that the west is seen as a closer contest?
As we know by now, the home teams all came out victorious. This gave 7 players the full 8 points (2 points for each correct prediction in round 1). It’s not over yet for everyone else (unless you’ve predicted 2 of the eliminated teams to go through to the championship of course…) as the points increase per correct pick over the next 2 weeks.
In the meantime, congrats to Pingree Panthers, Dave McVey, Sabercatto, Ranger X, Beaver Paw, Thomas Waldron, and Ranger Frank is still on form to defend his Post Season Ranger Picks crown!
Ranger Picks and TJRS Way Too Early
Way back in the pre season, the TJRS outriders confidently predicted the final table standings of the regular season. How did they do?
For the Eastern conference, Phil correctly predicted the Free Jacks being #1 and Anthem being #6. In what will be a theme, he over rated NOLA and under rated OGDC. Diamond Dave had 3 correct picks - NEFJ, Chicago and Miami, gave Anthem a bit too much credit and also had NOLA too high and DC too low. The Clown Prince of MLR managed to get the closest. 4 correct, just needing to flip NOLA and OGDC for a perfect score.
In the West, Bozo got San Diego correct at #5. Diamond Dave got Rugby LA in #3 and Phil also made predictions.
In the outrider and guests way too early predictions, Coach Mathie, Diamond Dave and Bozo6 were the closest to the 11-5 regular season, guessing 12-4. Bozo6 correctly predicted 13 of the 16 matches way too early - he failed to predict OGDC crushing his dreams and final NOLA match. Uncle Phil’s got 12 right, and despite Diamond Dave predicting a 3-3 start to the season, his crystal ball clouded over and he ended up with 11 right on the season.
In the Ranger Picks Way Too Early, Ranger Bunny stole the show - correctly predicting 11-5 and getting 14 correct - just being tripped up by the win at home against San Diego and the loss on the road in Miami.
3 other pickers also predicted 11-5. Ranger John and Tim Crowley each got 10 matches correct, Sabercat Diehard also managed to get 11-5 but only got 8 matches correct!
Special shout out to Hori Stylz who looked like they’d run away with this - 8 of the first 8 matches correctly predicted. But unfortunately fell in the 2nd half of the season landing on 13 correct with a “close, but no cigar” 10-6 predicted record.
Beside Hori Stylz and the aforementioned Bozo6, Ranger Erikk and yours truly also got 13 correct match predictions. Ranger Erikk close with a 12-4 prediction and my over enthusiastic 14-2 was not close enough.
Our Ranger Picks MLR 2025 Presented by TJRS Champion Freejack Fitzy had a 12-4 predicted record and got 11 correct. He must have improved week by week to have such a dominant win in the ranger picks main competition!
In terms of the dream away trip bonus question… Chicago was the clear winner, with Anthem and Miami tied for distant 2nd.
For myself and my 3 kids - we all picked different trips - Anthem, LA, Miami and Chicago. It’ll be fun to find out which of us gets our dream away trip first!