I WAS looking forward to going to the zoo.

First, my day with the girls riding little dirtbikes at Simon's gets rained out, and now it looks like some crazy guy might ruin our planned zoo day.

From Santa Barbara Independent:

A man in Army fatigues with a handgun has caused quite the commotion for morning commuters, as Santa Barbara police are attempting to coax him off the La Cumbre Street overpass Monday morning.

According to Sgt. Lorenzo Duarte, just after 7 a.m. police received a call of a suspicious man in the area, and responded to find the suspect waving an American flag and armed with the handgun.

La Cumbre from Modoc through the other side of the freeway has been shut down, as has Highway 101 in both directions, causing quite the backup during rush hour traffic.

The CHP is reporting several vehicles trying to exit Highway via the onramp at Turnpike, while traffic going the opposite direction is reportedly backed up to Montecito. A S.W.A.T team has been brought in to negotiate.

UPDATE:

After dropping his weapon, Van Tassel asked for a Barack Obama campaign sign, which authorities delivered to him using a bomb squad robot, police said. The man attached the sign and the flag to the overpass and later walked backward to officers, who took him into custody.

AND YES, WE MADE IT TO THE ZOO.