35 years ago today the mountain erupted. Then, Rachel was 4 and Kate was an infant. I mention this because when we saw the eruption (from Seattle!) we had no idea what was in store for us. Going through this was scary.
Every May 18 I think about the mountain. As interesting as it was, I never want to be there again. Volcanoes are terribly hard to predict.
I always recommend new visitors to WA to go to the visitor center. A fascinating story.