Tampa, Florida. Aug 27, 2012. I arrived in Tampa for the Republican National Convention on Sunday as a guest of my mother, who is working as a media surrogate for Governor Romney’s campaign. I was joined by my younger brother, Tommy, who is taking my place in Silicon Valley this fall when he begins work for a tech startup there. Together, we’ve spent the extended downtime, due to Isaac’s looming presence and Monday’s cancellation, “crashing” delegate events and cruising radio row looking to meet the stars of the Republican Party.

When I say crashing delegate events, I mean showing up uninvited to state delegation events where the major players of the party often drop in, say hi, and formally address the delegates. For example, Governor Chris Christie provided additional context to his keynote address at one of the Utah delegate meetings by the Tampa Airport this morning, and Senator Marco Rubio plans to give a precursor to his introduction of Mitt Romney tomorrow morning to Utah’s delegation.

The Tampa Convention Center is housing radio row, which is the media headquarters, particularly for radio journalists. The Tampa Forum, right across the street, is where the actual convention is. Because the party representatives spend a lot of time during the convention giving interviews to the media, they are frequently found at the Convention Center and one can easily corner—I mean, engage them in conversation and a quick photo op.

We were successful in our efforts: we met Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, both Utah Senators (Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee), future Senator Ted Cruz (Tea Party darling and former Supreme Court clerk), and even Governor Christie stopped to chat in the lobby of our hotel. They were all pleasant to talk to and didn’t hesitate to stop for a photo with their fans. I even made it onto Geraldo’s radio show on Fox News!

As an aside, the security perimeter surrounding the convention needs to be addressed. According to one of the delegates with whom I traveled from the airport, it’s the most expansive one ever formed for a political convention. When I reached my hotel, which was within the perimeter, I understood why—countless secret service members, local police, sheriff’s deputies, and even the National Guard were out in full force, carrying all sorts of weaponry including automatic rifles. Groups of two to as many as fifteen patrolled the area, some on foot, some on bikes, and some with dogs. The length of the perimeter is several miles wide and long, seemingly shutting down the entire southern portion of the city. To attend an event only a few blocks away from my hotel, just outside the perimeter, I spent over half an hour traversing the fenced-in walkways that spiraled around the sealed area. They don’t permit photos being taken of them, so the ones I did get were taken under extreme duress. You’re welcome.

William “Billy” Jackson is covering the Republican National Convention in Tampa for the Stanford Lawyer. Billy graduated Stanford Law School in 2012, was active in the Federalist Society, and will be clerking for Judge Eduardo C. Robreno, United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, this fall.