Wow, talk about night and day.

Quicken Loans Arena — and the area surrounding it, for the most part — was much like a ghost town as the evening hours rolled in Sunday.

That's certainly not the case Monday night, as the first official day of the Republican National Convention begins the first night of prime-time speakers.

Outside of "The Q," though, things got a bit heated in the Cleveland sun. Here's a look at what else is going on in "The Land."

Part-time Florida resident takes in the protests

Dan Keefe spends about three to four months in Palm Bay, and then the next three to four months in Cleveland — about 10 minutes from the Convention Center of Cleveland. That's where the first real organized protest took place Monday afternoon.

About 1,000 people marched from the Mall A green space through downtown to the arena. Things seemed pretty tranquil through the first half, but anti-Donald Trump members and pro-Donald Trump members began to exchange some heated words later in the protest, which forced several Cleveland Police officers to use their bicycles to separate the crowds.

Keefe said Cuyahoga County, which is where the city of Cleveland is located, is a Democratic stronghold.

"It's just ironic that the Republicans are bringing their holy wedding of their candidate to a Democratic stronghold," Keefe said Monday as he rubbed sunscreen on his arms with anti-Trump chants in the background. "It's right smack in the heart of the stronghold. They've come over the fence. It's good, though. Cleveland has been moving, and with the Cavaliers winning the (NBA) championship, that brought so much life to the city."

Added Keefe: "It was like a slap in the face to the local Democrats," he said about having the GOP Convention in Cleveland.

Keefe said he's not concerned about protests and security.

"It's safe," he said. "I don't have any issues going to rallies like this. You could be anywhere. You could be at the store getting soda pop and run into trouble."

Life behind the security perimeter

Speaking of security, the 1.7-mile secure zone between The Q and the Cleveland convention center is quite remarkable. Once you're inside the secure area, media members can take a shuttle between the two facilities instead of having to walk the approximately 10 blocks.

To get into either the convention center or the arena, you have to go through detailed security, a metal detector, get swabbed down and also have all of your technology checked.

Secret Service agents do most of the checking. A Secret Service agent also rides on the media shuttle from one building to the other. 

Dogs sniff everything, all personal items are hand-inspected and you can't bring most outside food or drink items through the security checkpoints into the secure area.

It's also worth noting that the Cleveland Police Department has deployed several officers specifically to video tape large-crowd situations. That was the case Monday during the protest we attended.

Colbert crashes RNC stage for 'Hunger Games' prank

A video posted online shows "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert taking over the microphone on stage in Cleveland in a "Hunger Games"-themed prank at the RNC.

The video shows Colbert behind the podium saying it's his honor "to hereby launch and begin the 2016 Republican hungry for power games" and banging a gavel. A man who appears to be security then confronts Colbert, who says, "I know I'm not supposed to be up here, but let's be honest, neither is Donald Trump" before being led off stage.

Colbert dressed like "Hunger Games" emcee Caesar Flickerman for the spoof, complete with a blue wig. He's worn the same getup on his show in a recurring bit about the presidential campaign.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.