Locals Kevin and Laura Wilson have spent nearly two years working toward one goal, opening Camp Yellow Cardinal. Everything was finally lining up: the land cleared, the permits approved, the financing in place.
Now it all depends on a boat, and nearly $26,000 in potential tariffs.
“We’re right at the finish line,” Kevin Wilson said, “and it’s all coming down to whether our domes get on the water before November 1st.”
The domes, six large geodesic structures that will serve as the centerpiece of the campground, are being built in Guangzhou, China. Once completed, they’ll be shipped to Norfolk, then trucked to the site outside Farmville. The production timeline is tight: about 30 to 35 days to manufacture, another week to reach the port, then roughly 60 days at sea.
“If they ship out before the end of October, I think we’re safe,” Wilson said. “The last time tariffs were increased, there was an exemption for anything already in transit. But if they leave a few days late, or if that exemption doesn’t happen this time, we could get hit with the full 100% tariff.”
That tariff would more than double the cost of the order.
When Wilson placed it in September, the numbers already stung. The domes cost roughly $17,000, with about $8,400 in existing tariffs, a figure he could just manage to absorb. But under Trump’s proposed new trade policy, that import tax could jump to over $26,000.
“That’s not the cost of the domes, or the shipping, or the insurance,” Wilson said. “That’s twenty-six thousand dollars straight to Customs and Border Patrol. If that happens, we may not even be able to afford to get them off the dock.”
It’s an impossible decision: ship now and risk being wrong, or wait and risk missing the window.
“We’re literally down to the hour on this,” he said. “If they can get the domes on a boat by the 27th or 28th, we might make it. But if the tariff hits before they’re in the water, that’s it. We don’t have that kind of cushion.”
Wilson’s manufacturer has agreed to hold the domes for now, giving him a few extra days to see how trade negotiations play out. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the end of October, and Wilson is hoping for some kind of pause or rollback.
“It’s cheaper for them to sit in China than in Norfolk,” he said. “But that’s not much comfort. It’s scary having a $25,000 asset sitting on the other side of the world while you’re just hoping for the best.”
The irony isn’t lost on him. Camp Yellow Cardinal is meant to be a peaceful retreat, a place to get away from the chaos of the world. Instead, global politics have turned his small business plan into a waiting game played out across time zones and tariff charts.
“I’m not against regulation or taxes,” Wilson said. “But there used to be some predictability in doing business. You could make a plan, follow the rules, and open your doors. Now a single tweet can change everything.”
As October winds down, Wilson checks his calendar and refreshes trade updates more often than weather reports.
“I’m just trying to open a campground,” he said. “I didn’t expect to be running a crash course in international trade policy.”
If the shipment makes it out before the deadline, Camp Yellow Cardinal could open next spring as planned. If it doesn’t, Wilson will have to find a way to pay tens of thousands in unexpected costs, or watch his domes sit in port, just out of reach.
“It’s all in motion,” he said. “Now it’s just a race against time.”
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