Travelling through the West, there are many iconic extra-terrestrial and UFO landmarks, from the Little A’Le’Inn just outside Area 51, Nevada…
![ale-inn](https://hilaritybydefault.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ale-inn-1024x768.jpg)
…to the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico…
![ufo-museum](https://hilaritybydefault.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/UFO-Museum-1024x768.jpg)
…to, of course, the Wal-Mart Supercenter.
![ufo-walmart](https://hilaritybydefault.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/UFO-Walmart-1024x768.jpg)
With so much “activity” happening out West, it came as a surprise to me when on a recent cross country trip down the East Coast, I ran across the so-called UFO Welcome Center…in Bowman, South Carolina of all places (because we all know how welcoming the Carolinas are of undocumented aliens).
![ufo-bush](https://hilaritybydefault.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/UFO-Bush-1.jpg)
Dating back to 1994, the UFO Welcome Center has been built and maintained by its owner and caretaker Jody Pendarvis as a potential meeting place between Earthlings and alien travelers. Complete with a couch for the weary intergalactic traveler and, um, whatever this is…
![ufo-wash](https://hilaritybydefault.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/UFO-wash-1024x576.jpg)
…the Welcome Center is an odd, offbeat treat. Held together by only eight screws, the entire structure is built from a hodgepodge of materials such as mattresses, wires, packing foam, and more. If anything, it’s a minor architectural wonder of Earthbound building violations.
![ufo-door](https://hilaritybydefault.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/UFO-door-1024x576.jpg)
Although Pendarvis is said to sleep inside of the rooftop UFO on cooler nights, I unfortunately did not get a chance to meet him or any other tourists for that matter. Perhaps for the best. I could only imagine the manic misinterpretation that would ensue if I introduced myself to any “enthusiasts” who could mistake my name Demos as the title of a celestial emissary.
Sadly, the UFO Welcome Center’s Wikipedia page affirms that “to this day not a single UFO or ‘Extraterrestrial being’ has been anywhere near this shack.” Other than a sudden bright green flash which may or may not have been an absurdly-colored, neon VW bug that drove by, I can’t say I’m too surprised. Then again, that’s exactly what the reptilians would want us to believe…