Emmaleigh Jane Cline took a ride on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry over pink-frosted cupcakes on her birthday. Perhaps little more than a scenic ride for Hampton Roads residents moving between Williamsburg and Surry, the ferry has a special place in the hearts of the Clines – it’s where Emmaleigh was born a year ago Friday.
Last year, Jonathan and Kayla Cline left their Surry home to get to the hospital but Emmaleigh had other plans. Emmaleigh was born at 3:06 a.m. while her parents were onboard the ferry on their way to Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. A medical worker also happened to be on the ferry and assisted the Clines.
Now Emmaleigh, called Peanut or EJ by her family, is a peppy baby who “finds humor in a lot of things,” according to her mother, holding her one-year-old as the ferry cuts through the James River on a sunny afternoon. While Emmaleigh has traveled via the ferry before, Friday was the first time she was out of the car, Kayla said.
Emmaleigh loves Bubble Guppies, an educational Nickelodeon children’s show about fish-tailed preschoolers. She loves to clap and sing. She also loves pizza, and after a visit to Mid County Park with her two brothers and sister and other family, the Clines plan to finish off the birthday celebrations at Cici’s Pizza Buffet, the family’s favorite restaurant, Kayla said.
A happy baby, Emmaleigh only slows down when the one-year-old is tired, and even then she laughs at herself as sleep sets in, Kayla said.
Wes Ripley, a Jamestown-Scotland Ferry official, said he’s heard of some close calls when couples use the ferry to reach the hospital to deliver a baby, but Emmaleigh is the only baby he knows of who has been born on the ferry.
Jacobs can be reached by phone at 804-269-1769