Interior of the Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard, CA

Way back in Cleveland during my childhood, there was a TV host who called himself Ghoulardi. He screened horror films and made fun of local figures and places—and he mad fun of one very distant place called Oxnard in Ventura County, California. He even had a raven whom he called Oxnard on his show.

Today, Martine and I drove to Oxnard looking for the new location of the Murphy Auto Museum, which was on a street called Eastman. I spent an hour circling around the place on Rice (where I missed the turnoff, which had a small sign) and Oxnard Road (which didn’t intersect). Eventually, I stopped at an Arco Service Station and found a smog technician who set me straight.

1930 Silver Phantom Rolls Royce with “Boat Back”

We had been to the old location of the Murphy about three times in the past. The museum had to move to a smaller location (about one-third the size) because the former landlord saw an opportunity to make more money. (Bad cess on him!) I am hoping that the Murphy manages to survive under its straitened circumstances and grow back to what it used to be.

It’s Not Just Cars: There Are Also Exhibits of Popular Culture

We did the museum in about an hour (it used to take us three hours) and sought out the local Chick-Fil-A for chicken sandwiches and French Fries. And then I drove back to L.A.