Learning to Knit...

Great advice so far! Also, join Ravelry. They have great forums and people who love to help! Check to see if there are knitting groups in your area. Sometimes they offer classes and have groups. Sometimes a local knit shop is helpful, sometimes not. Have fun and stick with it! You'll get the hang of it in no time! A few sites that are helfpul. I'll add to the list as I remember sites.

Ravelry.com
knittingparadise.com
knitty.com

Youtube has some great knitting help videos on it. But the easiest way to learn is by getting someone to teach you.
Some hobby places have classes. like Joann fabrics has classes. I am not sure what hobby/ yarn stores you have there in CA.
Some little independent yarn shops have classes as well.

There are lots of sites, and once you know the basics, there are TONS of free patterns - Ravelry.com and KnittingPatternCentral.com I am sure there are many tutorials out there too! I don't knit much, though I do use knitting looms, but those are much different than doing it with needles. I actually crochet, and I used a kids learn to crochet book, because it explained much more simply and showed lots of pictures.

there are loads of beginner knitting lessons on youtube