Thanks guys.
Dave, you just have to let the storm work for you but I imagine that San Diego doesn't lend itself to capturing many lightning shots since the weather tends to be generally clear. I've seen your work and I seriously doubt it is from lack of knowledge and skill, you have some stunning shots on your website.
Whiskey, you are right, the gap in the trees off in the distance is not that great. I looked at the weather radar before taking these and it appeared that the bulk of the energy was in the general direction that I was shooting so I set up that way and starting shooting. Most of the shots including these were w/ a 13s shutter speed and f/10 on sturdy tripod which is critical.