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UFO Welcome Center

I'm not gonna lie—I've been wanting to go to the UFO Welcome center for a pretty long time now, at least a year. Finally, on the way home from a meeting in Charleston last Friday, Adam and I were fortunate enough to have some time to take a slight detour to the charming city of Bowman, South Carolina to see it in all its splendor.

After taking one look at the UFO Welcome Center, I was convinced that the days of guided tours were over. Supposedly inhabited by a jolly man named Jody Pendarvis, the center welcomes visitors and provides tours. You can get a taste of what the grand tour was like back in 2008 by reading Evan Murphy's detailed account of his visit, complete with videos and everything. On Friday, though, there was no sign of Jody. The place appeared to be completely abandoned, judging by the amount of debris strewn about and the fact that nobody popped out of the nearest trailer with a shotgun—but what do I know about the sort of atmosphere makes aliens feel the most welcome?

After I returned home, I stumbled upon a photo taken in 2009 containing a comparable amount of rubble beneath the saucer, with its jolly inhabitant proudly standing out front, circa May 2009, and this recent report by Roadside America from last summer, which suggests that Jody might still live there. There's still hope.

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