Charlie Gibson's Great Memories of the Best Job Ever

Dec. 17, 2009— -- Charles Gibson's tenure at ABC News has been filled with countless extraordinary experiences. While he's certainly known for his hard news coverage, Gibson's job has sometimes been "just plain fun," as he put it on tonight's broadcast.

He's sat with Stevie Wonder at a keyboard -- listening to the story behind the song "My Cherie Amour." Wonder explained the original lyrics were "Oh my Marcia." But Wonder said he and Marcia broke up.

"That's great, you could adapt that -- it could be 'Oh My Sylvia,' it could be 'Oh My Stephanie,'" Gibson suggested.

"You think I didn't?" Wonder replied.

He was there for the reunion of Julie Andrews and the grown-up actors who played the Von Trapp family in the "Sound of Music." Andrews led them all, Gibson included, in a rendition of her favorite song, "Edelweiss."

His first trip for "Good Morning America" was to Venice.

"As one author wrote, going beneath a Venetian bridge is like slipping under a silent waterfall," Gibson said while riding in a gondola through the canals of Venice.

Queen Elizabeth II allowed Gibson into Windsor Castle one day -- and Buckingham Palace the next.

"If you're going to play the palace, Buckingham is not bad," Gibson said on tonight's "World News."

One day, he and "Good Morning America" co-host Joan Lunden had the Grand Canyon to themselves.

"Put down your toothbrush, your frying pan," he said. "I hope you have a big screen television because you just have to soak this in."

And for Gibson, an avid sports fan, what's better than broadcasting from Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park?

He went to spring training with the Washington Nationals, and went back to the old Comiskey Park in Chicago before it was torn down.

Gibson's father took him to his first baseball game at Comiskey.

"Being back here and sitting in the same area where I sat 40 years ago is great," he said. "But the funny thing is you don't really need to be here to see it or feel it, because it's all right here" on viewers' TV screens.

Gibson flew in a glider near Sedona, Ariz., and bungee jumped in New Zealand.

"I sincerely hope this is not the last time I say 'Good morning, America,'" he quipped.

He traveled to Sitka, Alaska, to release a wounded eagle that had been nursed back to health.

"They told me the eagle would take off, then circle over my head in a salute of thanks, then fly away again," Gibson said. "I said, 'Yeah, right,' but the eagle did exactly as they said."

He appeared with Julia Child several times on "Good Morning America." The two developed a close friendship over the years.

But the best of all for Gibson was sharing his adventures with his daughters.

"My younger daughter is in love with the movies," he said. "I got to take her to the Oscars. We were interviewed on the red carpet by Roger Ebert and Willow Bay."

One Christmas a few years back, his other daughter's high school chorus got to sing "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" on "Good Morning America."

"In my opinion, it was the best Oscars ever and the best 'Good Morning America' program ever, but I'm prejudiced," Gibson joked.