ANTELOPE VALLEY JOINS IN ANNUAL BIRD COUNT.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Quartz Hill's own Raviri almonds. Aerospace T-shirts, clocks and models from Lockheed Martin's employee gift shop. Life-size Blues Brothers statues at Charlie Brown Farms in Littlerock.

There are some unique to the Antelope Valley Christmas gift possibilities out there, if shoppers know where to look.

One of those is Lockheed Employees Recreation Club gift shop in the Lockheed Federal Credit Union Building at 1011 Lockheed Way, just outside the barbed wire-topped fence surround Lockheed-Martin's Palmdale plant.

``We have here the only items on the planet you can get from the authentic genuine Skunk Works location,'' said Mike Harris, employee store manager. ``We're no longer called the Skunk Works, we're called Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Palmdale. But those in the aeronautical industry know what the skunk is and we get mail orders, travelers from around the world that will come here specifically to buy an item that has our skunk on it.''.

The store's stock includes baseball caps and jackets bearing the likenesses of the SR-71, U-2, F117, F-16, F-22 and joint strike fighter produced by Lockheed or Lockheed Martin, models of Lockheed Martin planes, T-shirts - even small plush skunks. The store also carries crystal items, clocks, jewelry, kids toys, potpourri, candles, and posters.

Prices range from a few dollars to a couple hundred for built-to-scale plane models and clocks. On Thursday, the shop will hold a ``sidewalk sale'' inside the building. The store is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call [phone].

Inside a little green Lancaster house with purple trim and yellow shutters on 10th Street West is Donna Sebunia's Belladonna Gift Boutique and Tea Room.

Sebunia sells more than 50 flavors of loose leaf tea, including chocolate raspberry truffle, pumpkin cream, peach brandy and caramel cheesecake flavored teas, along with tea-related gifts including fine bone china from England, floral topiaries, tea cozies, and one of a kind jewelry creations.

Sebunia sells her own custom-designed table lamps and offers patrons finger sandwiches and desserts to accompany a cup of tea. Hats cover the walls and are available for patrons to wear as they sip a cup of tea.

Prices in the store range from $3 for a spoon to $150 for the table lamps. The shop is located at 44045 10th St. W., Lancaster and is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call [phone].

Set beside grapevines at Avenue M and 20th Street West, Antelope Valley Winery offers 18 varieties of wines and a store selling gift baskets, wine goblets, flavored oils for cooking, fudge, decanters, cards, jellies, jewelry, cookbooks and a wine wheel to help pick the perfect wine to accompany food items.

Owned by the Donato family, winery also sells elk, buffalo, and alligator jerky and a selection of nonalcoholic wines.

Prices for the wines range from $6-$18. The winery is open 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week. Wine tasting and tours are available all open hours but visitors should call in advance for tours during the month of December. Call [phone] or visit www.avwinery.com.

For those creative, or perhaps not so creative types, a handmade gift may be in order. Paint A Dream, owned by Dale and Debbie Provenzano, lets customers paint ceramic dishes, Christmas statuary, vases and animal figurines.

For $6 for adults and $4 for kids age 10 and under, customers can spend an hour or all day painting any number of items which are then fired in a kiln by the Provenzanos. Ceramic items are priced separately.

Located at 39332 10th St. W, Palmdale, the store is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Call [phone].

For many people traveling along Pearblossom Highway, Charlie Brown Farms' sprawling roadside building in Littlerock is a one-stop shop. Customers can buy hamburgers or hot dogs made from buffalo, ostrich, venison, vegetables, beef, pork or turkey, 100 flavors of shakes, 100 types of sugarless candy, and locally produced buckwheat and sage honey and molasses.

Wines from Cameo Vineyards, which makes organic wines in Lancaster, are available for sampling in the wine tasting room.

Three months ago the owners renovated and created a doll room, crammed wall to wall with porcelain dolls in lacy dresses, some suspended on swings from the ceiling. There is a pottery shop and a section devoted to garden gnomes.

The main gift store features calendars, greeting cards and chess sets whose pieces include shot glasses, cowboys and Indians, or Alice in Wonderland characters.

Among the merchandise are life-size statues of the Blues Brothers. Price: $895.

Charlie Brown Farms is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. The store is at 8317 Pearblossom Highway, Littlerock. Call [phone].

Another part of Antelope Valley's agricultural history is Rancho Raviri Almonds, a remnant of the time when Quartz Hill was mostly almond orchards.

Now using almonds trucked in from elsewhere, Rancho Raviri produces features 22 varieties of flavored almonds including bacon, butter toffee, and cappuccino cheese. Non-almond items available include almond brittle; English toffee; chocolate cherries, blueberries, apricots and cranberries; Dutch mints and sugarless items.

Located at 4646 W. Ave. M-8, the store is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Call [phone] or visit www.ranchoraviri.com.

Sitting in the midst of 90 acres of grape vines in Agua Dulce, the year- old Agua Dulce Vineyards features 14 wines produced from grapes grown in Paso Robles; a refrigerated deli section with gourmet cheeses; relishes; wine jelly; and dessert fruit such as cranberries in vodka and cherries in brandy.

The winery also sells lotions, soaps and body creams to fill gift baskets along with imported Italian pottery and wine accessories like corkscrews, stoppers, coasters and gift bags.

The vineyard, which opened in October 2001, has its first batch of homegrown wine aging in wooden barrels for sale next year. Wine prices range from $13 to $29 a bottle. Members of the wine club (which requires purchasing six bottles a quarter) receive a discount on the wines and gift store purchases.

Agua Dulce Vineyards at 9640 Sierra Highway is open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Call [phone] or long on to www.aguadulcevineyards.com.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Charlie Brown Farms gift shop is a one-stop center for people looking for unique gifts in the Antelope Valley region.

(2) Manager Sam Brisco looks at a life-size Blues Brothers statue at Charley Brown Farms gift shop. The store offers a variety of other items including locally produced buckwheat.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer