Came here to say the same thing. I learned by looking at the source of every other website, before there was minimization, obfuscation, or anything else preventing one from seeing the entirety of the sites code. A few books and websites definitely helped as well.
I lived in San Jose and worked in Cupertino. 15-20 minute drive only on a weekend, or middle of the day. The morning/evening commute time average was 45 mins.