Like everyone else who flew to New York from Seattle as a guest of Alaska Airlines and its Russell Wilson “12th Fan Airlift,” Riley (age 8), got to spend a weekend in a cool city and attend a pretty darn exciting Super Bowl-watching party.

But unlike all the happy-but-hoarse-and-tuckered-out fans on the very-delayed flight back to Seattle, Riley still had the energy – and the sense of wonder – to stay awake and look out the window as the plane came in for a landing.

He was sitting by the window in the row in front of me and, as we both had our noses pressed up against the window, we had a quiet little conversation about how cool it is to look down at all the lights and all the spots where there are no lights (lake, we decided) and how as the plane gets close to the ground there’s that moment when you’re flying – and then the tires touch down – and you’re not.

Thanks for visiting Stuck at the Airport. Subscribe to get daily travel tidbits. And follow me on Twitter at @hbaskas and Instagram.